Because of You
by Chanandaler Bong
Summary: CH. 20 up! Because of Ange, Jack lives from the shooting. How can he ever repay someone he doesn't even know and when she doesn't even know who she saved? PLEASE review the story if you read it! Knowing your opinions really makes me want to write more!
1. Fingers

_Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, although I wish I owned Jack in more ways than one ;) hahaha but I do own my own plots and characters! I've been seeing that there are a number of other stories that have the same basic idea/begin similarly that mine is, but this story is going to be different than those. I would greatly appreciate reviews! Thanks!_

**1. Fingers**

Angel was in the middle of cussing out Jeremiah when Bobby realized the their youngest brother was no longer the silent observing sitting at the couch.

"Jack!" Bobby screamed as he ran out the front door, just witnessing his quirky little brother being shot in the chest.

"Bobby!" Jack screamed in retaliation as he fell to the ground.

The shooting began just as unexpectedly as Jack's being shot. Before they even realized it, the Mercer brothers were surrounded by hit men from all angles. Jack wasn't supposed to live, but he did. How do I know this? Well, it's because I saved him.

_Moments before the shooting…_

I had been hobbling down the street adjacent to the street where the Mercer's house is located to my temp house. I was just getting to my place when I heard some shouting and then a couple guns go off. Sadly, living in a city like Detroit, this doesn't seem to faze one as much as it should, but I was fairly new to this city and dropped all of my groceries immediately at the sound of the shots. I turned in the direction I heard the guns and saw a guy laying in the snow by a house that was located on a street just up the street from my house. Seeing him, I immediately switched into EMT mode and ran up the street with my purse in hand. As I neared the house, I dropped to the ground and crawled through the snow to where the man was laying, trying to avoid being seen by the shooters.

"Shhh! Stop screaming, I'm going to help you," I whispered once I reached him and pulled him out of range from the assassins. Safely behind the house, I ripped open my purse, pulled out my phone and dialed 911.

"There's a shooting here on the corner of Dalen Rd. and Vincent Ave. I have a young man here who was shot in the shoulder and is bleeding relatively profusely. Please get here as soon as possible!"

After hanging up the phone, I rummaged through the purse for my first aid kit. I glanced over his shoulder wound and saw that he was bleeding just too much for any gauze of fix.

"Hi, I'm Ange, and I know this is going to hurt, but I'm a certified EMT. Oh, and you're going to live. That's a promise," I said to him finally. I don't think he cared even remotely as to what was going on. I don't think I would either I had been in his place. I took one more look at his shoulder and plunged my fingers into the artery that was bleeding. We waited like that for the longest 7 minutes of my life until the paramedics arrived with the police not far behind them.

"How long has it been since he was shot?" one of the paramedics asked.

"A little more than 10 minutes," I replied as they hoisted him up with me still attached to him via artery. I rode the majority of the way to the hospital with my fingers in his wound.

Once at the hospital, I was told I could leave. His brothers were notified of his rescue and location in the ER.

My fingers were in his wound…and I didn't even know his name.


	2. The Meeting

2. The Meeting

Sitting at home that evening was probably the most un-relaxing experience of my life. I was not accustomed to the dangerous life in Detroit. I was from Boston—a city with crime, yes, but nothing compared to the brutality I'd seen in my time spent in Detroit, Michigan.

I had put the groceries away, ate some dinner and retired on the sofa trying to watch some TV. I just couldn't get into it. Naturally, all I could think about was the young man I had saved earlier. I had never seen anyone quite like him. Attractive, yes. Single? Probably not. Every attractive man I'd come across in my life was taken at some point or another. He looked young though—not too much older or younger than myself. He could have been a college kid home for Thanksgiving break. I shut my eyes and slapped myself. It didn't matter who he was. He was saved from death and that's all that really mattered. I didn't feel I'd ever see him again anyways. With that in mind, I turned of the TV and retreated upstairs to my bed for the night.

The next day came and went just as typical as all the other days before the shooting had come and gone. As I was sitting down eating a quiet dinner with…myself, as usual, there came a knocking at my front door. I was a bit startled, but made my way to the door. I looked through the peep hole and saw three guys standing outside; two black guys and a white guy. I opened the door.

"Good evening…" I said slowly, a bit confused by the sight before me.

"Hi, my name's Bobby Mercer. This is Jeremiah and Angel. We understand that you were the person who saved our younger brother, Jack yesterday in the shooting," Bobby said sincerely.

"Yes, yes I did," I held out my hand and shook their hands. "Pleasure to meet you guys," I said.

"No, the pleasure is all ours, miss," Angel said as he shook my hand.

"Ange," I said with a smile. "Please, call me Ange,"

"Ange, you don't know how much this means to us," Bobby continued.

"Come on inside!" I said finally, realizing they were freezing outside. They all trudged into my house and sat down on the sofa while I sat on the chair.

"As I was saying, Ange, you saved our brother's life—this means so much to us. I don't know if you knew this or not, but our mother was Evelyn Mercer and she was shot a few days ago before Thanksgiving at the corner liquor store, and the possibility that we could have added Jack to that loss is just incomprehensible," Bobby finished.

"Oh I believe it. I'm just glad I was passing by when I was. I am also very sorry about your mother. I did know her well—she would have me over for tea every Tuesday and Thursday when I first came to Detroit. She was one of the few people around who sincerely welcomed me to the area," I said, feeling a pit building in my stomach for the loss of the wonderful Evelyn Mercer.

"Well, we wanted to come and tell you that Jack is in the hospital and is doing just fine," Jeremiah spoke finally.

"Excellent, that's good to hear," I replied.

"The doctor said he should be coming home in a few days or so. They had to do a minor surgery on his shoulder, but it all went out just fine," Jeremiah continued.

"I promised him he'd live," I replied with a smile.

"We just wanted to thank you in person for saving Jack," Bobby said, standing up and getting ready to leave.

"It was no problem at all," I said, feeling a bit awkward, not know what to say.

"Have you eaten yet? We'd love to have you over for dinner. It's the least we can do for what you've done for us," Angel said finally. I smiled, glancing over at the table in the other room, set up for one with cold food on it.

"I was going to eat, but that sounds real nice," I replied, still smiling.

"Come on, dinner's probably ready then," Angel said.

It was one interesting meeting with the three Mercer brothers. I don't recall much from the dinner, except that it was definitely unexpected—and that it was a strange feeling be in Evelyn's house without her there, and after four men had been living there for almost a week. I had met the brothers, but I hadn't met the one I had saved—the one I seemed longing to meet.


	3. Meet Cracker Jack

3. Meet Cracker Jack

Those days proceeding the dinner with the Mercer brothers were long. I would walk to and from work, arriving back at home tired as anything. I was only 21 and I already felt I should be 80. I lived a sad life for a 21 year old—going to work everyday and coming home to an empty house, eating dinner alone, watching TV and then going to bed. I had no life, no love, no nothing—except the kindness of the Mercer brothers. After that dinner with them, they invited me over again the next night, and then I invited them over the night after that. They made my life much more interesting, and they gave me company in the lonely city where I had no other friends. I still hadn't met Jack, but he was supposedly being released from the hospital the fourth day after the shooting.

On that fourth day, all I could think about was if I would finally get to meet him. I went to work and couldn't get my pathetic self to think of anything but him. I couldn't even really remember what he looked like. All I had were distorted memories of a young man who had just been shot and was screaming in agony. He was a mystery to me, and I think that was what made me so interested.

When that fourth day ended inevitably, I felt a small part of me crush under the hope I had felt all day long.

"Oh well. Hope for the best, expect the worst, I guess," I muttered to myself as I turned out my nightstand light and went to sleep.

"Jack, you gotta go over there and thank her for saving your life," Jeremiah said to Jack as he sat restlessly on the couch.

"Is she home?" Jack asked, his voice deep and slightly scratchy from being in the hospital.

"Of course she is, fairy! It's Saturday!" Bobby exclaimed with a laugh. Angel and Jeremiah chuckled with him, glad that their younger brother was home.

"Alright Bobby. I figured that. I just wasn't sure if she was out like doing other things aside from work," Jack replied with a grin as he got off the couch.

I was sitting at my lap top checking my email when the doorbell rang. I was up late the night before due to my anticipation, and was pretty upset with myself for feeling so tired at just 4:45 in the afternoon. I got out of my chair and peeped through the hole. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of the unfamiliar face. I opened the door and was saved.

"Um hi, I'm Jack, and I just wanted to thank you for saving my life," he said immediately, looking down at the ground.

"Hey, I know I'm short, but I'm not all the way down there," I laughed. He looked up slowly and when his eyes met mine we both shared a chuckle. "Come on in, Jack,"

He walked in and took a seat on the couch.

"So how are you feeling?" I asked finally. "I'm Ange, by the way,"

"I'm feeling better than I was," he said slowly, looking back up at me with a smile, then looking away once our eyes met again.

"That's good," I replied, taking a seat next to him on the sofa.

"Yeah. Well, my brother's are going out tonight—they have some 'unfinished business' they gotta attend to, so I was wondering if I could make you dinner," Jack said, completely avoid all eye contact during his invitation.

"Yeah, I'd love some dinner," I replied, searching for his blue eyes with mine. He ran a strong hand through his messy light brown hair and finally turned a quick glance over to me. He stood up suddenly.

"How about you come over around 6:30?" He asked, not looking at me.

"Sounds good," I said, standing up. "I'll see you then,"

After he left, it occurred to me just how awkward that whole situation had been. I sort of liked his awkwardness. This was going to be a fun evening.

I stood outside the Mercer household with a bottle of zinfandel. I hoped he liked zinfandel. When he came to the door he was smiling, but then his smile quickly turned to a look of uneasiness. As he let me into the house he took my coat.

"I didn't know you were going to be all dressed up! You look so nice and I looked like shit," he said, walking with me back into the kitchen.

"Don't worry about it. I always dress like this when I get invited to dinner," I replied. "I brought zinfandel. Do you like zinfandel? If you don't I have some merlot at home, or chardonnay? Beer is fine too if you don't like wine, I just felt like I should bring something, you know? My parents always taught me to bring something if I get invited somewhere…"

He laughed at my rambling. "It's great, don't worry about it. This is a dinner for you—me thanking you. You didn't have to bring anything," he said, looking me in the eyes. I smiled and put the bottle down on the table.

"It's to see a man that cooks," I laughed, watching him close the oven and removing his oven mitts. He chuckled.

"Have a seat—it's just about ready," He said, gesturing to the table. I watched Jack remove the chicken from the oven. I was pretty jacked! I also really enjoyed the tattoos that decorated his nice arms. I caught myself staring. I quickly diverted my eyes to a random wall in the house as he placed the chicken on the table.

"You can help yourself," he said as he set it down.

"No way! I'm waiting for you," I replied with a smile. He smiled back and went into the kitchen, retrieving mashed potatoes, salad and a cork screw for the wine. We ate dinner in mostly silence, except for the obvious questions: "how is it?" "More wine?" "Have some more chicken," etc.

I helped him clean up the kitchen after we ate and then joined him in the living room on the sofa.

"So, you're not from Detroit?" He asked.

"No, I'm from Boston. I went to college in North Carolina and now I'm back in Boston for grad school. My internship brought me to Detroit," I replied, sipping on some more wine.

"How did you know my mother?"

"She invited me over for tea on Tuesdays and Thursday. She was one of the only people here who really welcomed me to Detroit,"

"Sounds like mom," he chuckled, taking a swig of beer.

"She was a fabulous lady," I replied with a tipsy smile.

"What's your major at school?" He asked, a bit tipsy himself.

"Music, with a double minor in psychology and physics," I laughed at the ridiculousness of my major.

"Physics and music! What kind of internship are you doing here with that!" he laughed.

I laughed with him. "Well, I'm going to be a music therapist, which takes care of the music major and psych minor," I replied, drinking more wine.

"And the physics?" he chuckled.

"It's physics with a concentration in astronomy, just because I like it and it interested me," I laughed.

"Oh jeez," he grinned. "I'd give anything to be a musician,"

"You can do anything if you really want to," I said finally.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind when I'm a starving artist," he said sarcastically with a smile.

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with being a starving artist!" I smiled back. There was a brief silence.

"I don't want it to seem like I'm kicking you out or anything, but they're gonna be back soon and you probably wouldn't wanna be here when they get back," Jack said, standing up.

"Oh I understand," I replied, standing up as well.

"I had fun tonight," he said.

"Me too. Thank you again," I said as I stepped out the door.

"Yeah, well, have a nice night, and internship and all," he said. He was about to close the door when he suddenly paused. It was as if Evelyn had appeared before him: _"Jack! That is a nice girl! She'd be good for you, Jackie. And don't you dare let her walk home alone!"_

"Let me walk you home. Detroit's not a safe place," he said finally.


	4. More Time to Rock: Dance with Me

4. More Time to Rock: Dance with Me

I should have been glad that he walked me home, but I was bummed our night ended early. It was only 8:03 and my night was over. It was a Saturday night and I was back to sitting at home. I decided a nice bath might be nice, so I ran the tub and sank into the hot water to forget myself for a while. Some time had passed and there was a ring on my doorbell. I sat up immediately, a bit taken off guard, then quickly got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around me and ran downstairs.

I peeked through the peep hole, and my heart jumped. It was Jack. I cracked the door open.

"I'm sorry, I hope you're not busy or anything. I just figured that…well the night kinda ended early and all," he said. He looked so adorable wrapped up in his coat and scarf. I opened the door all the way to reveal to him that I was in a towel.

"Sure, come on in," I laughed. He blushed at the unexpected sight of me in a towel.

"I'm so sorry! I can leave if you're busy…"

"No! Have a seat. I'll be right back," I said, and ran up the stairs. I drained the tub and changed back into my clothes. I met him on the couch moments later.

"So what's up?" I asked.

"I was just sitting at home and my brothers didn't get home yet, so I figured you might be up for something else," he said, rubbing his hold hands together, his rings clanking. I took his hands in my warm hands for a moment.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked, looking up at him. He paused, not expecting me to be warming his hands. He finally spoke.

"Anything really," He said, looking me in the eyes.

"You're into rock music aren't you?" I asked. He laughed at the obvious answer.

"Yeah," he laughed.

"Well, I have a friend from school that's in a rock band and I got an email from him today saying he's playing at the art space in downtown Detroit tonight. We could go to that if you're up for it…"

"Yeah, that sounds great!" I said, standing up, pulling me up with him.

"Well let's get going—I think it started at 8," I said getting my coat and heading out the door.

We got to the art space and the concert was already going on. Inside, we partied, screaming along with my friend's band when they played re-makes of songs Jack and I knew. We especially had fun screaming Green Day's "Holiday" when they played that. It was a cliché song, but it was fun. Sadly, it ended an hour after we arrived, leaving us at 11:15—and nothing to do.

"So now what?" I asked. "Are you feeling up to doing anything else?"

"Yeah! That was the shit. I feel fine!" Jack laughed, all pumped up. We got out to the street and stood around for a bit.

"Wanna go clubbing?" I asked. It seemed like a far stretch for the punk-rocker Jack, but he seemed to jump at it.

"Sure!" I shrugged and chuckled.

"Alright, let's go then," I laughed as we headed down the streets of downtown Detroit.

We found a club called "The Heat". It was free for ladies after 11, which was awesome, and was only like 15 bucks for Jack. The music was mostly hip hop inside, but I didn't care. I was in such a pumped up dancing mood nothing mattered. Jack seemed to feel the same. The music played so loud and I could feel the bass pulsing in my chest and stomach and I could barely hear Jack when he talked to me. We danced, Jack with a beer in his hand, and me just having had a tequila/lime shot and I was ready to get down and dirty with Jack.

"Ladies, grab 'yo man and dance with him!" The DJ hollered.

"Let me know if I make you uncomfortable, alright?" I yelled up to Jack over the loud music.

"Alright," He grinned as he placed his hand on my lower back as I danced closer to him until we were grinding and I could feel the warmth of his body with mine. We danced for the next few songs like that—nice and close, grinding, until the DJ changed the music up a bit. Janet Jackson's "That's the way love goes" came on.

"What the hell kind of club is this!" I shrieked at the slower, more intimate song.

"Who cares?" Jack asked, pulling me closer, continuing to dance with me in ways I didn't know he knew were possible. Feeling more comfortable since he was clearly comfortable, I really got into it. I turned so my back was to him and moved my hips against him in ways I didn't even know I knew! He moved his hands down my hips and down my thighs and back up again. I turned around again and we danced front to front again. I didn't even realize it, but I was singing along with the song. As the song ended, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, Jack was smiling. I also noticed he had something in his pocket. The music changed back to faster hip hop.

"Jack do you have something in your pocket?" I asked glancing at him up and down. He looked down and then back at me with a smirk on his face. He was beet red.

"No…"

"Oh my God, I'm sorry! It's okay!" I exclaimed, feeling awful at pointing his rather noticeable boner. He just laughed.

"It's alright. That last dance kinda made it inevitable," he said. We both laughed and shared the rest of the dances at the club that night until it closed at 2.

We ended up, drunk, back at my place, sitting on the sofa—it was 2:37 am.

"You can sleep here if you don't feel like walking back," I said, trying to come off as a drunken whore who wanted to sleep with him. I didn't have any real sexual intentions—only what happened on the dance floor. I think he knew that as well.

"I would, but I know I'd never hear the end of it from my brothers tomorrow," he replied. "They always tell me I'm gay and shit!"

"Well if you spend the night here I'm sure they won't think that," I laughed and he laughed with me.

"Probably. Either that, or they'll say I'm gay cus we didn't fuck," he replied, standing up.

"I understand," I laughed, pulling him back down on the sofa.

"I really don't wanna leave yet," he said, slurring his sentence a bit.

"Jack?" I asked, leaning my head on him.

"Yeah babe?" He asked turning his head towards me.

"Do you feel anything?" I asked, sitting up and looking at him.

"Like…what?" he asked.

"Like with tonight and us having a good time,"

"Yeah, I had a great time tonight," he replied.

"But I mean, like…do you feel a connection?" I asked. "I know we just met and all, but I'm not gonna lie—I can't get you outta my head, Jack,"

"You feel that way? Like you're attracted to me?" He asked.

"Yeah. I am."

"Good. I was afraid I was the only one," He laughed. "I saw you and I thought, 'oh God, she's gorgeous—she'd never go for a guy like me'"

"Aww, no Jack! You're all I could think about ever since I saved you. And you know what else? I get that giddy feeling whenever I look at you," I laughed, falling back on the sofa.

"I do too!" Jack exclaimed, his eyes all glassy and glazed over with drunkenness.

"Wanna try it then?" I asked.

"Try what? Sex?" He asked.

"No. The dating thing," I replied.

"There are some things you might wanna know about me before you decide whether you wanna date me or not, Ange," he said, more soberly.

"I don't care what's in your past, Jack. I trust you," I said, also sobering up a bit.

"Well, as you know, my mom, she adopted me and my brothers. I had a rough childhood before I came to her," he said, avoiding eye contact with me once again.

"I understand," I said, taking his hand.

"I was abused by my parents and the other foster homes I went to didn't even care about me when I was living there,"

"That's awful," I said, still holding his hand. He held mine tight.

"There's more. I want you to know I'm not a virgin…"

"That's okay, Jack. I'm not either…"

"No, it's worse," he was real tense, almost in tears. "I lost it when I was 9. My uncle raped me and it became pretty habitual,"

"I'm so sorry, Jackie," I said, holding his hand tight.

"There's more. I turned to drugs as a means to escape from my emotional pain and fucked up life. I mostly smoked pot, but the cheap shit that was probably laced with fucked up shit,"

"It's okay Jack. I've done pot a few times too," I said, trying to make him feel better.

"I mostly did pot—I was high all the fuckin' time. I tried cocaine a few times, smoked opium a couple times too,"

"I don't blame you," I replied, "but Evelyn took you in, and you're clean now. It's all in the past now, Jack. I trust you, and I want you to trust me,"

"That's about it—but it is hard for me to trust people. I didn't even trust mom when she first took me in, but I grew to see how sweet and kind she truly was. Well now you know all about me and my past. I'll ask you now again, do you still wanna date me?"

"Jack, please look at me," I said after pausing. He finally made eye contact with me, "I want you to trust me. I promise you I'll never hurt you—I care about you. I know this is all so soon—so sudden, but it's how I truly feel. Yes, I want to date you."

"You really do?"

"I wouldn't have said I did if I didn't," I replied, forcing a smile for him in this heavy moment. He smiled back finally.

"Then let's try it," he replied.


	5. Keep it Gay

**5. Keep it Gay**

_To everyone who reviewed the story: Thank you so much! I hope you like how it's going so far. This chapter isn't as exciting, but it will get better, I promise! Keep reading and keep reviewing! Your input is greatly appreciate!_

Jack went home that night around 3:45 to find his brothers were sleeping. He went to bed happy that night for many reasons, one being that he probably wouldn't be getting a hard time from his brothers in the morning.

He was wrong.

The next morning Jack saw he was the last to wake up when he founding himself joining the three others at the table about 11:30.

"Why if it isn't Miss Jack! Had quite a late night last night huh?" Bobby snickered.

"Yeah," Jack grumbled, sitting down at the table with a smile. He ran a hand through his messy hair and reached for the pitcher of juice.

"Yeah? So some guy picked you up last night and you went back to his place?" Bobby instigated further. Jack looked up at his brother through stern eyes.

"Leave it alone Bobby. I was with Ange," He admitted casually, pouring a glass for himself.

"Ange? Really?" Angel asked, "way to go 'bro!" He laughed, playfully punching Jack's bare tattooed arm. Jack smirked and shook his head, avoiding eye contact with his brothers.

"So, you get laid or what?" Angel continued to ask.

"Angel, if he did, I'm sure he wouldn't tell us," Jeremiah chimed in.

"If he got laid, for certain if wouldn't have been with Ange," Bobby said finally.

"Why's that? Bobby, are you saying I couldn't get a girl like Ange?" Jack asked, turning towards Bobby, his lips slowly curling into a smirk.

"Well, I'm saying that you wouldn't go for a girl like her mostly because she's not a dude!" Bobby snorted.

"Well I'll have you know I did not get laid, but I was with Ange all night. We went to a local band concert and then went to a club and then we just talked back at her place," Jack said nonchalantly.

"Right. Just talked." Angel snickered. "Nobody goes back to somebody else's place to 'just talk', man!"

"Well, think of it what you will, but we did just talk," Jack replied, getting up from his seat.

"Where you think you goin'?" Jeremiah asked Jack as he turned to go back upstairs.

"Shower and get dressed. Ange is coming over," Jack said with a grin and walked upstairs.

Sunday morning after a late Saturday night is never a fun time. I didn't have much of a hangover, but the hot shower felt good nonetheless. Jack had told me to be at his house around 12:30—and to keep our status hush-hush with his brothers.

I dried my curly hair, got dressed and headed out the door, heading to the Mercer household. When I got there, I rang the doorbell.

"Hey Ange," Bobby said as he opened the door.

"Hey Bobby!" I smiled and hugged him as he let me in the house.

"Have a seat. Jack should be right down. He's getting ready like a good girl," Bobby joked as he went into the kitchen. I joined Jeremiah on the sofa.

"So, first thing's first, Ange. You and Jack datin' or what?" Jeremiah asked as soon as my ass hit the couch. I turned to him with a look of disbelief.

"Jeremiah! We hung out once! No! We're just friends," I laughed, shaking my head. Just as I answered him, Jack came running down the stairs.

"Aaaaaange!" he exclaimed as he came over and hugged me. "What's going on here?"

"Nothin'—I just asked Ange if you guys were dating or what!" Jeremiah defended himself.

"Jeremiah, I told you before—Ange and I are not dating! Just because we hung out last night does not mean that I got laid, okay?" Jack reasoned.

"They thought you got laid?" I asked him with a chuckle, making it seem like I would never bang Jack.

"Yeah. I told you they would think that," Jack said, defensively.

"I coulda told you guys Jack and Ange weren't dating," said Bobby as he joined the room and conversation.

"Why's that?" I asked suddenly, defending the idea that I could, and was dating Jack.

"Well it's easy—it's because Jack's gay," Bobby simply stated as he sat down.

"Bobby, enough with that," Jack said, annoyed. "I'm not gay!"

"Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart. Just know that I'll love you no matter what," Bobby chuckled.

"Leave it alone, Bobby!" Jack exclaimed.

"Well if you ain't gay, then why ain't you getting' laid by nice girls like Ange, huh?" Bobby asked

"Because I just met her like 24 hours ago!" Jack replied. "And I've been laid plenty of time, for your information,"

"Yeah, by dudes!" Bobby insisted. Jack just looked at Bobby and without saying a word, stood up, grabbed his coat and scarf and left the house.

"Jack! Buddy! You know I'm not serious…only half of the time!" Bobby called out to Jack.

"Bobby, is all that really necessary?" I asked suddenly.

"Is all what necessary?" Bobby asked me through squinted eyes.

"All that shit you give Jack about being gay. What if he's not? And so what if he is! If he is, he'll come out to when he and if he feels the time is right. If he's not gay, the leave it alone. Clearly, it bothers him."

"What? You spend one day with him and suddenly you know more about him than his own brother?" Bobby asked defensively.

"She's got a point, Bobby," Jeremiah said suddenly. I had almost forgotten he was still in the room.

"No, I'm not saying I know more about him. I'm just saying that after a while, the teasing really begins to wear you down, that's all," I said and stood up.

"Where you going?"

"To find Jack," I said as I put on my coat.

"Well, when you find him, make you tell him to keep it gay!" Bobby hollered at me as I slammed the door shut.


	6. Unexpected Occurrences

**6. Unexpected Occurrences**

_You're going to recognize a scene in this chapter that is from the movie. Just letting you all know, it's not my scene, but I adapted it to fit the story! Enjoy!_

I looked for Jack for about 20 minutes until I found him in the most obvious and yet most not so obvious place: my front steps.

"Jack, don't listen to him. He's just being Bobby," I said, as I sat down next to him.

"He always pulls this shit with me and it really pisses me off," Jack said in a low voice.

"I understand totally. Look on the bright side, at least they don't suspect us dating at all," I grinned at him. He smiled back.

"I almost wish they did," he replied almost solemnly.

"Whenever you feel you wanna tell them is fine with me, Jack. No pressure,"

"I know," he said with a smile. "I think I'll tell them soon, just not today. Maybe this week,"

"Whenever you decide if okay with me," I said, taking his hand and holding it tight. He playfully bumped his shoulder into mine and we both smiled.

"Can I do something I've wanted to do all last night?" He asked.

"Sure," I replied with a smile. He leaned in and kissed me. The moment his lips collided with mine I knew what we were doing was right. Smiling, he pulled away and like two giddy kids we both laughed, knowing we felt the same thing. He was about to lean in and kiss me again, when out of the corner of his eye, Bobby came into view. He dropped my hand immediately as Bobby approached us.

"Jackie, I'm sorry I upset you this much," Bobby apologized.

"It's alright Bobby," Jack said.

"You know how much you mean to me. I never do anything to hurt you—it's all in jest, man," he said, as Jack stood up Bobby hugged him. I smiled at the sight of the two brothers. Jack turned and looked at me and smiled.

"Nothing could ever come between the love I have for you, Jackie," Bobby said, still hugging Jack.

"Bobby, it's really okay," Jack laughed, pulling away from his brother.

_About a month later…_

After the gay incident, Bobby was acting real weird around Jack and me. At first, Jack and I thought it was because he figured Jack and I were dating, but later on, I realized it wasn't that way at all. I had been spending my available time at the Mercer home with Jack and his brothers. We'd have dinner, play cards, drink and just laugh. Yet, nothing could have prepared me for the unexpected event that took place on Friday evening—almost a month after Jack and I started dating (neither of us as imagined our relationship to go on secretive for so long). I headed over to the Mercer's for dinner and when I got there I found nobody else to be home—except Bobby.

"Come on in, Ange," Bobby said as he let me in the house.

"Where is everyone?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Jeremiah's at home and Angel and Jack should be back shortly. They had to run out to the liquor store," Bobby replied as he took my coat.

"Excellent—can't have an evening without that," I joked as I sat down on the couch.

"Yeah," Bobby chuckled as he sat down as well. He seemed a bit nervous. He rubbed his palms along his thighs briefly and then turned to me.

"You know, dinner won't ready for a long while—would you wanna go get something to eat before they get back?" He asked.

"Oh I don't mind waiting," I said nonchalantly, not realizing his offer was really some sort of date and not just an offer of friends.

"Are you sure? I mean…well, if you don't mind, I was sort of asking you socially, I guess I could put it that way…" he said softly. It took me a moment for this information to register, and Bobby was a nice guy and all, but I just didn't really see him that way. And oh yeah, I was kind of already dating his brother who I was absolutely crazy about. Shit.

"Bobby, I really would love to do dinner with you, but right now isn't really a good time," I said, trying to seem breezy and friendly at the same time.

"Why isn't now a good time?" He asked, seeming a bit antsy.

"Well, the reason, of course," I chuckled, quoting my favorite TV show, _Friends_. He didn't laugh. Guess he didn't watch _Friends_. "Look, Bobby, I think you're a fabulous guy, I'm not just saying that—but I really don't feel I have the time to date anybody right now. I'm real busy and wouldn't have much time to dedicate to you," I said, half lying, half truthful.

"Oh I understand. I forgot how busy you are most of the time," he replied. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic, but it didn't matter, because at that moment, Angel and Jack walked in the door. This time, Jack had saved me.

Well, as if things couldn't get any stranger and unexpected, Angel, Jack, Bobby and I all went out to the bar that following night—it was a good night to get hammered by my standards. Luckily things weren't too weird between Bobby and me…yet.

As the night grew on, the more shots of hard liquor we pounded—or they pounded. I just drank a couple rum and cokes and I had a pretty good buzz going—that was good enough for me. Jack, on the other hand, was downing shot after shot after shot of whisky, along with Angel and Bobby. I think he felt he had something to prove to them—mostly about being manly and not being a "fairy", as Bobby made him out to be. We ended up sitting at a table. I was still happily buzzed, Angel and Bobby were done drinking, and Jack was sipping on a beer.

"Jack's so drunk," Angel laughed at his brother as Jack licked his beer bottle kidding around.

"Jack's drunk!" Jack shouted. He winked at me and took another swig of beer.

"Jack like ass crack and ball sack," Bobby muttered to Angel. The two shared a laugh and Jack managed to hear them.

"No! Jack doesn't like ass crack and ball sack! Jack likes boobs! Ange's boobs, to be more specific," Jack exclaimed in the third person. My heart began to race faster. Bobby and Angel laughed at him. I decided they thought nothing of his comment. I glanced over at Jack, signaling him to stop, but he just kept going.

"Jack's got fans…lots of fans…" he began. My heart began to race again.

"Yeah, dude fans," Bobby chuckled.

"No—Jack's got fans, but only one special fan," Since he was sitting next to me, and put his arm around me and kissed my cheek. I tried looking as though I didn't enjoy it, but it wasn't enough to fool Angel and Bobby.

"Wait, what?" Angel asked, confused.

"You heard me," Jack slurred. "Jack's biggest fan is right here—Jack's girlfriend, Ange!" I turned to Jack and looked him sternly in the eyes but didn't say anything.

"Is this true?" Angel asked, almost shocked. I was quiet for a moment and then looked at both he and Bobby.

"Yes. It's true," I replied. I turned to look at Jack, who was leaning on me and had actually passed out.

"Now I understand," Bobby said, standing up.

"Bobby, don't be upset, please. I'm really sorry. Jack didn't wanna tell you guys, for whatever reason I'll never know. I told him whenever he felt ready to tell you was fine with me. Apparently he felt ready tonight…" Bobby was silent for a moment, but then he finally spoke.

"Nah, don't worry about it. He deserves someone like you in his life," he said sincerely.

"Let's get this clown home before he pukes," Angel said to Bobby as they both hoisted him up.

The next day, Jack awoke to sitting by his side while he lay he bed. He smiled up at me and tried to sit up. Realizing the magnitude of his hangover, he fell back down.

"Oh man, I feel like shit," he grumbled.

"Yeah, you were so shitfaced last night," I chuckled as I brushed some of his hair out of his face.

"What happened last night? I don't remember anything past sitting at the bar pounding whisky shots," Jack said with a smirk.

"Well, for starters, you outted us to Bobby and Angel," I said, grinning at him. Suddenly, he sat up straight.

"I did what!" he exclaimed.

"You told your brothers that we're dating," I said more seriously.

"Oh shit. What'd I say?" he groaned as he fell back down onto his pillow.

"You said you didn't like ass crack and ball sack, and that you like boobs, mine in particular. That part they didn't quite catch. Then, you went on saying stuff about how you have a lot of fans, but only one special fan, being me, and then you kissed me, and then you said I was your girlfriend. They took it just fine. Don't worry," I comforted him.

"Holy shit," he paused and then look up at me, "as long as they don't mind," he said finally, grinning, pulling me down on top of him.


	7. SexEd and Hockey

**7. Sex-Ed and Hockey**

"Jack, you gotta get up! And get off of me!" I hollered from beneath the still hung-over Jack.

"No! I'm hung-over and can't move. Sorry babe," he said, laughing as he still had me pinned down.

"Yeah, some hang-over you're having—you're able to wrestle me but can't seem to roll over to let me out!" I managed to squeeze out. He just laughed at my inability to breathe.

"Jack! I can't breathe! I'm like a hundred pounds and 5 feet tall!"

"That just makes you a foot shorter than me. It has nothing to do with you not being able to breathe," he snickered.

"Yes it does!" I coughed out. "It has everything to do with is, because it means I am at a huge disadvantage in comparison to you. There is more of you to pin me down, clearly,"

"That I'll give you, but just to add to your pleasant state, I'm just gonna breathe on you now," Jack laughed as he began blowing air in my face.

"Oh gross! You smell like a combination of liquor and puke! Stop! Ahhh!" I tried burying my face into his pillow.

"Okay, I'll stop," he said, smirking.

"Are you sure?" I asked, my voice muffled through the pillow.

"Yes baby, I'm sure," he replied, still smirking. I slowly lifted my head and Jack slowly moved off of me and to the other side of me so I was between him and the wall on the bed.

"Thank you," I said, finally breathing fully. I rolled onto my back and suddenly, Jack planted a huge kiss on my mouth, shoving his tongue down my throat. He seemed to be trying to get the full grossness effect of his bad breath into my mouth via spit.

"Ah! Jack! Gross!" I exclaimed as I pulled away from him. I wiped my face on his shirt and rolled over away from him.

"Aw Ange, you don't like it when I kiss you?" He asked teasingly, poking my side with his finger.

"Not when you taste like alcohol and puke, I don't!" I replied back, pretending to be angry.

"What if I kissed you here?" He leaned over and kissed my neck. I started laughing and then he stopped.

"No, I don't think I want to kiss you there," he said playfully. He ran his hand along my side and lifted my shirt up and began kissing the side and back of my torso. His tongue ring tickled so much as he kissed me that I couldn't stop laughing. Unfortunately, I laughed loud enough to alert Jack's brothers that he was awake. His bedroom door finally flung open and Angel stood in the doorway. He took one look at us and shook his head.

"Man, can't you two go somewhere else and get it on? Bobby and me are trying to watch the game downstairs!"

"Angel, we are clearly not 'getting it on'," Jack stated, drowsily sitting up in bed.

"Well it's gonna happen. Where the hell do you think making out leads to!" Angel exclaimed.

"Leave it alone, Angel," Jack laughed, lying back down.

"Do yourself a favor and be safe about it alright?" Angel instructed, reaching into his pocket and tossing a condom onto the bed. He shut the door and disappeared back down stairs. I took the condom and held it up. Jack and I both looked at each other and just started laughing. For some reason, sex was just a joke to us—not something we had tried yet, and to be perfectly honest, wasn't something we felt like attempting yet in our current stage of our relationship. But just because we didn't want to attempt sex yet didn't mean that the sexual tension wasn't there…

_Later that day…_

"Jack, what do you think about what Angel said today?" I asked Jack while we were sitting outside tying up our ice skates.

"He meant that if we had sex we should use a condom," Jack answered sarcastically.

"No shit, Sherlock," I replied, finishing up my skate.

"Well then what do you mean?" He asked, pretty confusedly.

"I guess what I'm wondering about is our sex life," I said finally, putting it all out on the table.

"What about it?" He asked, lacing up his skate.

"Well, it's non-existent," I replied with a chuckle. "I mean, should we be having sex? Do you not wanna have sex? I mean, you can't deny the sexual tension isn't there," Jack looked up suddenly and paused before he said anything.

"Oh it's there alright," he replied, "but I don't know if I feel ready to have sex with you yet,"

"Understandable…"

"Don't think it's you, Ange. I am definitely sexually attracted to you—I just need a little bit of time to figure out how I feel about having sex with you so soon,"

"Wow. I never thought I'd hear the words 'sex' and 'wait' come out of any man's mouth," I laughed, feeling a little better knowing that he was in fact attracted to me.

"Yeah," he chuckled, "but it's the truth. I'm not just saying it so you'll let me in your pants faster," We both laughed as we stepped out onto the ice. We skated around for a bit, and then he handed me a hockey stick.

"You ready to learn?" He asked with a grin.

"As ready as I'm gonna be," I replied with a chuckle. He dropped the puck on the ice and began skating around, pretty much showing off to freak me out. I was good on skates, I used to figure skate, but I wasn't accustomed to skating with a stick in my hands and watching both an attractive man skate around and puck at the same time. He pretty much ran circle around me for the first half hour on the ice, but I began picking it up. I was a relatively fast learner, especially since Jack was trying to make a fool out of me. I was lucky enough to catch on fast enough to somewhat impress him with my novice skills. I skated right past him with the puck and slammed it hard right into the goal.

"Damn," Jack gawked as I skated over to him.

"How was that?" I asked with a smirk. He finally turned and looked at me.

"Are you sure you've never played hockey before?" He asked.

"Yeah I'm sure. I used to skate though, if that helps at all," I grinned.

"I guess there's not much I can teach you then," he laughed as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Oh I'm sure I can think of a few things," I winked up at him. He just laughed and nodded in satisfaction.


	8. The Shit Hits the Fan

**8. The Shit Hits the Fan**

_Thank you all so much for the review! It's appreciated a lot! If any of you have seen Memoirs of a Geisha, I sort of used a line/concept from it in this chapter! Just letting you know! Enjoy!_

A couple days later I received a letter from school and a phone call from my parents. It had seemed like it had been so long since any of my previous life before Detroit had contacted me. It was a wake-up call for me. I had been so absorbed in my work and being with Jack that I had almost completely forgotten why I was even in Detroit in the first place! My parents called asking me about my work and how it was going. They also told me that they bought me a plan ticket home for the holidays. I couldn't wait to finally get home and be with my family for the holidays. But there was a catch—I wanted to bring Jack along with me. How could I possibly take him away from his brothers during the holiday season when their mother had just been murdered a month prior? I'd have to do a lot of talking and conning with Bobby, that's for sure.

As for the letter from school, well, I was to report back to my advisor before the holidays. Not such a bad set-up, I figured—except Jack. I didn't know what to do about Jack…

"So, Jack, have you ever been to Boston?" I asked him that same night while eating some Chinese food take-out on the sofa. He smiled and let out a little laugh as he swallowed his lo mein.

"No, no I haven't," he replied. "Why?"

"Well, my parents called today and they told me they bought me a ticket home for the holidays," I stated.

"That's great, Ange!" Jack exclaimed, not realizing at first that I would be leaving him for a little while. I looked at him as though I had more to say.

"But that's not all," I said finally. Jack looked at me through concerned eyes. "I have a bit of a dilemma, because, well, I'd love for you to come with me,"

"I'd love to go! Of course I'll go!" He exclaimed again, this time kissing me. "When do we leave? Christmas is in a few days,"

"Well that's the thing—I have a couple things to do at school before-hand, so you'd have to fly out after me and meet me in Boston," I explained.

"I could do that," he said quickly. "I'll pack tonight,"

"Jack, don't you understand why this is a dilemma though?" I asked, taking his hand in mine. He looked again at me, this time harder. "I can't take you away from your brothers when your mother was just murdered a month ago," Jack was silent for a little while as he processed all that had gone on in the past month.

"I understand, and I really shouldn't leave them for Christmas," he said finally, "but I want to spend this holiday with you,"

"Jack, this is going to take a lot of reasoning with Bobby, you know that…"

"I know, but I'm willing to do it," he said, standing up and getting his coat on.

"Where are you going?" I asked, standing up with him.

"To go talk with Bobby,"

"But Jack, I'm leaving tomorrow," I blurted out suddenly. "If he doesn't want you to come, then I probably won't see you until I get back in about a week and a half or so. Tonight's our last night for a while," He paused again, but then leaned in and kissed me.

"I'll make it work," he said determinedly, and then left the house.

_At the Mercer Household_…

"No, Jack—you aren't going!" Bobby said as soon as Jack told him his proposition.

"Oh come on, Bobby! It's not like you've never spent Christmas with me before," Jack argued.

"Jack, does the fact that ma died last month mean anything to you at all?"

"Yes, Bobby! Of course it does! But it's over now. She's in a better place and the bastards who took her life are gone too. What more can we ask for? We did what we wanted to do and now we have to move on with our lives," Jack reasoned, trying not to get too upset.

"Jack! All ma woulda wanted would be for us to spend one more holiday together—especially this year," Bobby spit back.

"Bobby, we have the rest of our lives to spend more holidays together," Jack stated.

"Unless something like what happened to ma happens to one of us before next Christmas," Bobby explained bitterly.

"Bobby, I just don't get why you don't understand," Jack sighed, his voice low and shaking his head as he went upstairs.

Jack was pretty much dormant the entire evening in his room. He played around on his guitar while he lay in bed, smoked his cigarettes and quietly cried over the loss of his mother, Bobby's misunderstanding, and missing Ange.

_The next day…_

Jack woke up relatively early and staggered into the bathroom to take a shower. After getting all clean, he dressed himself in his black tee-shirt with the skull and cross bones on it, and his jeans. He dragged himself down the stairs and into the kitchen where he made himself from breakfast. He sat at the table for quite some time, eating slowly, waiting for either Bobby or Angel to come down.

Finally, Bobby came into the kitchen and sat down at the table across from Jack. The two men were silent as Jack finished eating and Bobby just sat there. Jack finished his breakfast and then stood up and turned to leave when Bobby grabbed him.

"Sit down, Jack," Bobby instructed finally.

"You tell me I can't see my girlfriend and now you're telling me I have to stay in the kitchen?" Jack asked, a bit frustrated.

"No, that's not it at all Jack," Bobby sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I just wanted to tell you to have a safe trip to Boston," Jack's eyes widened and his mouth dropped.

"What?" he asked finally.

"I said I wanted you to have a safe trip to Boston, Jack," Bobby repeated.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked, extremely surprised at his brother's change of heart.

"Yes I'm sure. Now get your ass upstairs and packed before I change my fuckin' mind!" Bobby firmly instructed. Jack quickly got up from the table, ran out of the kitchen, then back in again. He grabbed Bobby and hugged him, lifting his brother off his feet. Bobby squirmed in Jack's arms, struggling to be let go.

"Thanks Bobby!" Jack exclaimed. He put down his brother and then ran upstairs to pack. Moments later, he came bounding down the stairs with his guitar in its case and his large duffel bag. Jack paused at the door and turned to see Bobby.

"She probably left already," Jack said, finally, dropping his stuff to the floor.

"Well she did say you'd have to fly in after her, didn't she?" Bobby asked, walking over to his brother and picking up his things.

"Yes, but, now she probably thinks I'm not going—and besides, I would have flown out tomorrow," Jack said.

"Jack, are you going to spend Christmas with your girl or not?" Angel piped in, coming down the stairs.

"I want to…" Jack began.

"Then shut the fuck up and get the hell outta the house, 'bro!" Angel hollered. Jack smiled and his brother smirked back at him. He picked up his bags and headed out the door.

Bobby and Angel ended up driving Jack to the airport, where they said their temporary good-byes and parted for the holidays. Once inside the airport, Jack scanned all the people, wondering if he'd see me anywhere—perhaps I hadn't left Detroit yet. He figured if I was anywhere, I'd be waiting at my plane's gate, and no where near the ticketing counters. He briskly walked through the masses of people traveling for the holidays towards the Southwest ticket counter, but something stopped him in his tracks.

"Ange!" Jack called out my name as he saw me waiting in line at the Southwest counter. "Ange!" He dropped his bags and ran through the people towards me. I heard my name being called and turned around to see Jack running through the airport. I quickly got out of line and ran towards him like in some cheesy romance film.

"Jack!" I exclaimed as we finally collided and embraced. We kissed for the sake of the moment and then pulled away.

"Jack, what are you doing here?" I asked in disbelief.

"Bobby changed his mind—I think it had a lot to do with Angel, actually," Jack laughed.

"That's wonderful!" I smiled and kissed him again. But as I pulled away from him, a frown darkened my lips.

"What's wrong?" He asked, taking my face in his hands.

"I have to go to school first," I replied solemnly, avoiding eye contact with Jack.

"That's fine, baby. We'll be in Boston together—I don't mind going to school with you," Jack smiled. "Don't worry about it. This is going to be a great holiday,"

"That's not it, Jack," I said finally, taking a deep breath, trying to look him in the eyes.

"What's wrong Ange? What's going on?" Jack asked, concerned for my sudden change in mood.

"Jack, there's something I have to tell you," I said finally, breathing in again.

"What is it?" He asked. I could tell he was getting nervous, like maybe I wanted to break up or something.

"Jack, I hate to say this to you, but I wasn't entirely honest with you about school. Actually, I lied to you…" I began. I could just see Jack die inside as I said the words "I lied".

"Why? About what?" He asked, getting more intense.

"I lied to you about going to grad school, Jack. I'm still an undergrad going to school in North Carolina. I'm a senior on internship here in Detroit—not a grad student," I admitted.

"Why'd you lie to me!" He exclaimed. He was nearly shaking from the suspense, and the let down that I lied to him about something.

"Because I wanted to impress you!" I blurted out—and it was the truth. The only thing I had wanted in Detroit was Jack, and I felt I had to be impressive in order for him to want me. As if saving his life wasn't enough to win him over.

"Impress me? Ange, are you fucking kidding me or what? The fact you graduated high school and even went on to college is impressive enough for me—I dropped out of high school! I've never even had the 'college experience'. You saved my fuckin' life and you felt the need to lie to me about something as unimportant as going to grad school in order to impress me! No, I don't think I can believe that…"

"Jack, please, that is the truth. I know it is hard for you to trust, and I know now it's even harder to trust me because I just lied to you about school, but that is the truth. I saw you after I saved your life that day, and after that, you were all I could think about. You were this mysterious man whom I saved and didn't even know, and for some reason, I wanted nothing more out of this city than to be the girl you called 'yours'," I pleaded.

"So you thought that saving my life wasn't enough to make me attracted to you? Or impressed by you? Ange, do you think I'm that shallow?"

"No, Jack, I don't! Please try to understand—everything I have done has been an attempt to get me closer to you…"

"And it worked," he said finally. "You don't need to impress me, Ange. You do impress me, but I just want you to be you—to be the same woman that saved me. That was selfless, Ange. You put yourself in danger by doing that—that's more impressive to me than whether you're a grad student or not,"

"Are you mad at me?" I asked, softly.

"No. I'm not mad at you," he said finally. "Sort of flattered, actually,"

"Why's that?" I asked, a grin forming on my lips.

"That you'd go to such lengths just to have me…and it wasn't even that big of a lie—that's the funny part," he laughed and embraced me again.

"You still wanna come to school with me, Jack?" I asked.

"Only if you don't mind your undergrad friends meeting your high school drop-out boyfriend," Jack replied with a smiled.


	9. The Tar Heel State

**9. The Tar Heel State**

_Yeah…so it's just a coincidence that Ange goes to Elon University ;) I don't attend Elon or anything…Enjoy!_

Jack and I sat anxiously on the plane waiting for take-off. I had bought his ticket to RDU and then to Boston with the money I had saved for myself before my parents told me that they bought my ticket home. I popped in a piece of gum and turned to Jack. He looked uncomfortable, his long legs scrunched behind the seat in front of him; and he looked nervous as all hell.

"Jack, have you ever been on a plane before?" I quietly asked him. He was looking around and the mere sound of my voice made him jump. He turned to me.

"No, not really," he replied uneasily, fidgeting in his seat.

"I promise it'll be just fine. You look like you're about to die, Jack!" I exclaimed quietly, as the airline stewardess began shutting the over-head compartments.

"I'll be fine," he said in a low voice and swallowing hard.

"Here, take some gum. It'll help prevent your ears from popping," I explained, as I handed him a stick of gum. He popped it in his mouth and began chewing frantically. I chuckled at him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome aboard Southwest airlines. Our flight to Raleigh/Durham will be approximately one hour and thirty-four minutes. The current weather in Raleigh is 56 degrees Fahrenheit and partly cloudy…"

"Jack? Are you gonna be okay?" Jack was breathing heavily and was leaning back as far as he could with his eyes closed.

"Ange, I'll be fine,"

"You don't look fine!" I exclaimed.

"Sir, you're going to have to put your seat in its up-right position for take-off," the stewardess said. Jack's eyes bugged open suddenly.

"I'm sorry…" he said quietly as he fixed his seat.

"Jack, everything is gonna be just fine. We're gonna be in the air for only an hour and a half. Nothing! Just a quick jump!" I smiled at him and took his hand. There was silence between us as the plane taxied out on the runway. The plane turned its final corner and I looked over at Jack.

"You ready?" He just nodded and held my hand tighter.

Jack slept the entire flight, which I thought was remarkable considering his height and how squeezed he was in that plane seat—but nonetheless, he awake just as the plane landed, with a sudden jolt.

"…welcome to Raleigh, North Carolina," echoed in Jack's ears as he sleepily turned his gaze towards me and out the window.

"We're in North Carolina?" He asked, drowsily. I kissed him and smiled.

"Yup! And it's warmer here than it was in Detroit!" I laughed as the plane parked by the gate.

Jack and I exited the plane and headed toward the baggage claim.

"So how are we getting to your college?" He asked as we waited by the claim.

"My best friend from school, Whitney, is picking us up. I can guarantee when she meets you she will say, 'OH so this is the infamous Jack I've heard so much about!'" I imitated.

"Infamous!" He exclaimed with a laugh.

"Yeah, she uses famous and infamous interchangeably," I chuckled as I grabbed my bag from the rotation. Jack grabbed his bag and followed me out to the ground transportation. I scanned the numerous parked cars and finally spotted Whitney's silver Honda CRV.

"There she is!" Whitney exclaimed as she got outta the car and saw me running to her.

"Whit!" I exclaimed as we hugged.

"Masshole! I've missed you so much!" She shrieked hugging me even tighter. "How was your flight?"

"It was good! Quick—the way I like 'em," I laughed. Whit laughed and then eyed up Jack.

"So this must be the infamous Jack!" She exclaimed as she hugged him too. "Jack, I'd like to let you know that whenever we talk on the phone, you're all she ever talks about," Jack laughed and looked over at me.

"What!" Whit asked, confusedly.

"Nothing. She just said you'd say that exactly," Jack replied with a big smile.

"Oh Masshole, you know me too well," she said to me and smacked my shoulder. Jack and I exchanged glances and laughed as we loaded our bags into the back of the CRV.

"Jack you can take shot-gun. You're taller than I am," I got in the back and Jack sat up front.

"Whit, thanks so much for picking us up,"

"No problem at all, sweetie!" She said as she pulled away from the curb.

"So, how has the weather been? How's Claire and Elon?" I asked as we headed down the high way away from the airport.

"Weather's been good—on and off as usual this time of year. Better than they're been getting up North though," Whit was from upstate New York and Claire was from Long Island. The three of us could appreciate the decent winter weather NC offered in comparison to our usual harsh winters up in the arctic abyss, Whit in particular.

"As for school—it's been good. Real busy working on my senior seminar paper/project thing. It's due before I leave for break. You know we're usually outta here by now anyways!"

"Yeah seriously—this is shit coming back a couple days before the holidays!"

"Yeah it is. But yeah—Claire's doing well too—busy as usual,"

"Good!" I peered into the passenger seat and saw that Jack was passed out sleeping. Whit and I both laughed at him.

We arrived at school about an hour later. Whit pulled into the parking lot outside of our apartment. Gotta love off-campus housing.

"Jackie, we're here," I whispered to him as I opened the car door. He shuffled a bit in the seat and then finally got up.

"I'm up, I'm up," he said as he got out of the car. He looked around and then took off his scarf.

"It is warm out," he said, smiling at me.

"I told you," I laughed as I took my bag and handed him his. We walked up the stairs to the door and into our apartment.

"You can put your stuff in my room," I said as I led him to my room. We dropped our bags and then went back to the main room and sat on the couch with Whit.

"So where's Claire!" I exclaimed, looking around.

"She's at the library finishing up shit, I guess," Whitney replied.

"Oh excellent," I replied. Just as I got comfortable, Claire came strolling in.

"Ange!" She exclaimed as soon as she got in the door.

"Claire!" I jumped up and hugged her.

"This is Jack," I introduced them. Claire winked at me in approval. It was always her thing on approving the men Whit and I dated.

"He's cute," she whispered to me as he sat back down. "Good choice, honey!"

The four of us sat on the couch talking about random things and past experiences for a while until we all felt relatively hungry. For old times' sake, we decided to go to dinner at our favorite Japanese restaurant.

"Jack, you'll like it. They cook the food right in front of you," I said as we left the apartment.


	10. The Bet

**10. The Bet**

_Disclaimer: this Chapter may be inappropriate for younger people—a bit of sexual content—but nothing too explicit. Not gonna give anymore hints!Just a forewarning! ENJOY!_

At the restaurant, I noticed Jack looked extremely tired, and maybe a bit sick, when he excused himself from the table to go to the bathroom.

"Ange, holy shit—he is so hot! I bet he's fabulous in bed," Claire exclaimed. So typically Claire—I loved it. She was like our sex therapist—and connoisseur.

"Well, I wouldn't know," I replied, sipping my soup.

"What!" Whit was shocked. "I would have guessed you would have tapped that by now, Ange!"

"I know, but with Jack things are different," I replied. "And besides—you know I've never been quick to have sex. And to be perfectly honesty, I haven't had sex since Chris and I got back together junior year,"

"No way. Girl, you gotta get some action," Claire scolded me. "He totally wants you though. I can tell. I can see it in his eyes,"

"Yeah, you're probably right. I just don't want to rush him or our relationship," I replied.

"Well, how far have you two gone?" Claire asked.

"Claire!" Whit exclaimed.

"What! We're girls—this is what we do," She laughed.

"Short-stop," I replied.

"That's it!" Whit exclaimed again.

"Oh shut up, you didn't even wanna know, Whitney!" Claire replied.

"Yes, that's it," I replied with a laugh, blushing a bit.

"Well I think tonight you should go for it," Claire said. "Whit and I are going out tonight, so you will have the place all to yourselves," she winked at me. I just laughed at her forwardness.

"I think you should go for it too," Whit chimed in.

"Alright. Well we'll see what happens," I replied, giving them the eye to be quiet since I saw Jack coming back.

"Sorry about that. I got a phone call from Bobby," he said as he sat down.

"Bobby wouldn't be single, would he?" Claire asked, leaning over the table. Jack laughed.

"Yeah, he is, but I don't think you'd wanna date him," Jack replied with a smile.

"Is he your friend?"

"No, he's my brother,"

"Oh! Even better!" Whit said sarcastically.

"So how many brother do you have?" Claire asked.

"There's four of us including me. So three others. Jerry is married, Angel just broke up with his girlfriend Sofi, and Bobby isn't dating anyone," Jack replied.

"Oh God," I said, knowing where this was going.

"Why? You want me to hook you up with my brother?" Jack asked with a chuckle.

"Wouldn't be a bad idea," Claire laughed with him. I just shook my head, laughing.

When we got back to the apartment, Jack immediately went into my room to lie down. Whit, Claire and I sat in the main room talking.

"Okay, so we're going out. When we get back, we want to see candles lit and both of you lying in that bed of yours exhausted from a long night of sex, okay?" Claire explained.

"Alright! Help me light some candles to get him in the mood then. Chances are he's too tired from traveling to have sex with me,"

"No man is ever too tired for sex," Whit added. We fished around for candles and we laid them all out throughout the main room. They were just about to leave when Claire stopped suddenly. She ran into her room and came out with a CD.

"You're gonna need this," She said as she handed it to me.

"What is it?"

"It's my sex mix," We all laughed.

"Oh Claire—only you," Whit said, dragging her out the door.

"Oh! One more thing!" She ran back into her room and came out with a condom and lube.

"Claire! You don't think I or he has condoms!" I exclaimed, laughing at her.

"Maybe not. If you're not prepared, then it can't happen. I'm just ensuring your future of tonight,"

"Thank you for looking out for my sexual well-being. Have a great night, ladies," I hugged them both.

"You have a fabulous night too, sweetie," Claire winked at me as she and Whit left the apartment. I locked the door and searched for a lighter to light the candles. Finally, in my room, I took Jack's lighter from my desk and lit the candles. I then lit all of the candles in my room and turned out/dimmed the lights in the main room. I put on Claire's CD in the main CD player. The first song that came on was "Sexual Healing". I laughed out loud. So typical and cliché of any sex mix. Good song, but for getting Jack in the mood. I skipped the track to the next. Aaliya's "Rock the Boat" came on. Much better. I glided into my room and sat on the bed next to Jack.

"Jack, time to get up," I rubbed his back gently and he turned over.

"Hey," he mumbled as he saw me. A little smile crossed his lips as he sat up. I took him by the hands and led him out to our main room. I sat on the chair adjacent to the sofa, and he took a seat on the sofa.

"What's all this?" He asked with a grin, looking around the room, then looking at me.

"Nothing. Just something relaxing. We haven't been together in a while—like relaxing and talking alone and whatnot," I replied with a smile.

"Yeah, I agree," he replied, his eyes narrowing a bit. We sat in silence for a moment. I decided maybe I should be more forward with him, but there was no need. Jack sat up from his slouch and patted his lap.

"Come sit by me," he gestured, "you're so far away," I smiled and joined him on the couch. As soon as I sat next to him, he pulled me over onto his lap. Maybe this was going to be easier than I thought.

"So, you're tired still?" I asked as I played with his hair.

"I was, but I'm not so much anymore," he replied. The music changed tracks to David Rose's, "The Stripper". I hit my head with my hand.

"What is this?" He asked with a laugh.

"It's a CD of Claire's," I admitted with a chuckle.

"You gonna strip for me or something?" He asked, laughing. I got off of him and stood in front of him.

"If you want me to," I laughed. I quickly pretended to do a little dance for him and we just both ended up laughing with my sitting back on his lap again. This was not going to be as easy as I thought. We were just too goofy about anything sexual. We were both silent again, but then he spoke:

"Hey, come here," I turned my head.

"Huh?" I asked. He leaned in and kissed me. We kissed like that for a bit—and soon enough he was lying on top of me. We were making out pretty hard-core; his hand was up my shirt when I finally pulled away.

"Wanna take this into my room?" I asked, praying he'd say yes.

"Yeah, let's go," he agreed. We got up and went into my room. We resumed our position from the couch and continued making out. Before I knew it, my shirt was on the floor, as was Jack's. Slowly he moved his hand down my body and down my pants. He worked it down there for a little bit. I could feel him hard, high on my thigh. I ran my hands and fingers through his hair as he kissed further down my body. Unbuckling my jeans and slipping them off was a sure sign to me that we would have sex that night. I began getting a little nervous, but he kept things interesting—letting his pants slide down to the floor and getting back on the bed. I went back to kissing me, moving down on my slowly. In my head, I was going nuts. He was going to eat me out—with his tongue ring.

"Relax, baby," he said, as he slipped my underwear down to my ankles and tossed it to the floor. It was perfect—I noticed Janet Jackson's "That's the Way Love Goes" had begun to play. Such a good mood song. I shut my eyes as he began working his tongue down under. I moaned a little. That tongue ring sure did the trick. As my breathing became heavier, I moaned some more and had to stop him. I didn't want to waste myself just yet. We still had to have sex.

"What's wrong? Does it not feel good?" He asked as he came up to me.

"No, it was amazing—it's that tongue ring," I chuckled. "No, I just feel bad—you're doing everything,"

"Well, I want to. Don't worry," he said with a smile. It was too late. I was already kissing him and moving down. He wasn't gonna argue with me about getting head, that was for sure. After I took off his boxer-briefs, all I can say is this: huge. Maybe massive would be a better word. Hung like a horse? That could work too. Well, nonetheless, I began giving him head. Every so often, I'd glance up at him just to see his reaction. I loved every moment of it: his eyes closed, sometimes tightly, sometimes just rolled back a bit. Every now and then, he'd grab the bedding, and sometimes he's run his hands through my hair. I was afraid he was about to come when he stopped me from giving him head. I brought myself up to eye level with him.

"Jack, do you wanna do this?" I asked, hoping for his answer to be yes.

"Ange, you know I wanna have sex with you more than anything right now," he said, still sighing a bit from before.

"So…then let's do it," I said.

"I don't have a condom," He replied quickly.

"I do," I reached down to the floor and fished it out of my pant's pocket.

"I want to so badly, Ange, but I just can't right now. I don't want it to take anything away from our relationship,"

"Jack, it's not going to take anything away," I reasoned.

"You'll see soon why I can't just yet," he said, holding my hands, smoothing out my skin with his thumb.

"But we're practically having sex right now!" I pouted.

"I know, but we have to wait just a little bit longer. I promise you, it will happen. It'll happen a lot," he laughed, "but you just have to trust me on this,"

"I do trust you…" I said, then my heart sank. "Oh God, Jack, you don't have AIDS do you!"

"No! Of course not!" he exclaimed, sitting up suddenly. He pulled me close to him and rubbed my arms softly while he kissed my neck and shoulders and back. I fell back into the moment.

"Then what is it, Jack?" I asked while he still kissed me.

"You'll find out real soon. I'd tell you now, but it wouldn't seem genuine,"

"I don't care. Tell me now!" I pleaded, taking his face between my hands, I kiss him. "Please?"

"You'll thank me later when I tell you then and not now. Now isn't the time you'd appreciate hearing what I have to say. I promise it's nothing bad. It's a good thing—or at least I think it's a good thing,"

"Give me a hint then!"

"You really want a hint? It'll probably give it away," he winked at me with a teasing smile.

"I don't care. At least I'll know what subject matter that's keeping you from making love to me,"

"Well, that's sort of the topic right there," he replied.

"What is? Sex?"

"No, you said it differently before,"

"What? Making love? What about it?"

"It's something I haven't told you yet…" he hinted.

"I don't get it," I laughed.

"It's fine, baby. Don't think into it too much. I'll tell you soon enough. Maybe even later tonight or tomorrow,"

"Okay," I gave up. "Well can we at least finish what we started?" Jack laughed.

"Of course," he smiled as he kissed me and went back down.


	11. Meet the Parents

**11. Meet the Parents**

_Thank you all for the reviews! They're wicked nice and I really appreciate it! I'm glad you are all enjoying the story!_

The 23rd of December. I was at school. I had hoped to be home by now, but I was at school. I had to travel again--such a pain in the ass. I woke up that morning tangled in a web of sheets and Jack. I was careful not to wake him as I unraveled myself from the sheets and Jack's limbs. I peered out my door to find no one else. I ran into the bathroom and took a quick shower. I dried my hair, put on makeup and brushed my teeth. I quickly dressed myself and ran out the door, figuring I'd make it just in time for my meeting with my advisor.

I met with my advisor for a little less than an hour—going over what I've been working on in Detroit and whatnot. When I got back to the apartment, I was surprised with what I saw. Whitney and Claire were eating breakfast—that Jack had made!

"Morning!" They all greeted me as I walked in the apartment.

"Want some breakfast, Ange? Jack's a great cook!" Whit exclaimed while taking a forkful of eggs. I laughed and went over to Jack, who was standing at the stove cooking eggs and bacon.

"Morning," he said as he kissed me. "You're just in time," He plated the eggs and bacon and handed the plate to me. I joined the girls at the table and they both looked at me with suspicious eyes—not informed of what went on last night.

"So, Ange, how was your evening last night?" Claire asked, taking a bit of bacon.

"Fabulous," I replied with a grin as I began eating. Jack finished his breakfast and put his plate on the table. Just as he took his seat, his cell phone rang. He looked at it and rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, I'll be right back. It's Bobby," he got up and went outside.

"So? Did you guys do it?" Claire asked.

"No. It turned out he didn't want to. But we were close!" I exclaimed, trying to defend Jack and his unknown reason for abstinence.

"Aw, he didn't want to? I think that's cute," Whit said.

"Cute! Whitney, he's a GUY! What guy doesn't want sex from his girlfriend!" Claire exclaimed.

"I know! Right?" I laughed, not really knowing what to think.

"Um, a guy who loves his girlfriend for more than just sex," Whit replied, giving me that 'you know it's true' stare. I froze. That was it. Either he didn't love me enough to have sex with me yet, or he didn't know if he loved me and therefore couldn't have sex with me until then. Maybe he didn't love me at all.

"Maybe he doesn't love me," I said quietly.

"No that's definitely not it!" Whit and Claire began ranting to me but quickly stopped when the door opened and Jack came walking in.

"Good thing you came back! Your breakfast is getting cold," I said with a smile, pretending our conversation never happened.

"Yeah! Bobby can just keep talking forever," Jack groaned as he sat down. "He wants me to call as soon as we get to Boston. When will that be?"

"Um…probably sometime after 6 tonight. Our flight leaves at 4:53 which means we have to get to the airport by 2:45," He nodded and continued eating. Whit and Claire and I all exchanged sympathetic glances.

After we cleaned up from breakfast, all four of us began packing for our trips back home. Jack and I packed our things more or less in complete silence. Maybe he suspected what I thought and what we talked about while he was on the phone with Bobby. Maybe he didn't suspect anything. Suddenly, my heart sank at my next thought—what if something bad happened at home and he felt too bad to tell me? As we lugged out bags out of my room and set them by the door, I turned to Jack.

"Jack, is something bothering you?" I asked.

"No," he said nonchalantly as he opened the door and dragged his things outside and down the stairs. I met him by Whitney's car with my things and stopped him.

"I beg to differ,"

"About what?" he asked.

"That nothing's wrong,"

"Nothing is wrong. I swear to you," he said. I wasn't going to push it. I didn't feel like being in a fight with him on the plane. It could have just been my imagination playing games with me.

We said good-bye to Claire. I told her I'd keep her posted while we were away on break about the status. Whitney drove us to the airport and we said good-bye. I told her I'd keep her updated as well.

Jack and I lugged our bags through the airport, checked in, this time with Delta, went through security and sat at the gate. We sat in silence for some time, but then he pulled out his guitar. He took it out of his case and began strumming it and playing around on it for a little while. Finally, he glanced over at me and began singing along while he played.

"_One day, not long ago, I was shot, but this really awesome girl saved me. Her name is Ange! Her name is Ange! Her name is Ange! Ohhhh so we chilled once I was better, and really hit it off! We didn't go to bed that night til 3…aaand her name is Ange! Yeah, her name is Ange! Ohhh her name is Ange! And now we're here, sitting at the airport, waiting to fly to Boston. It doesn't matter cus I'm here with her…my girlfriend, the girl who saved me…yeah…her name is Ange!_"

By the end of his song, all of the people that were sitting at our gate clapped. I was bright red but laughing. I leaned over to him and kissed him.

"That rocked, Jack," I laughed as I leaned my head on his shoulder—completely forgetting about why I had been so upset earlier.

Soon enough, we were boarding the plane to Beantown. I was so excited that Jack was going to get to experience my city—and in the winter. As we took our seats on the plane, I couldn't stop talking to him about what we were going to do in Boston.

"…and we can go skating on frog pond and I'll take you to Newbury street—that's always fun. Oh! And there's this great restaurant called 'Fire and Ice' that is in Harvard Square we can go to. It's awesome—they have a this giant raw bar of all kinds of meats and fish and such, noodles, rices, all kinds of veggies and different sauces you can choose from. You bring your stuff up to this giant circular grill at the middle of the restaurant and they cook it for you!"

Jack laughed, "I can't wait," Suddenly, I stood up.

"Jack, you need to take the window seat," He just shrugged and switched seats with me.

"Why?" He buckled himself in.

"You'll see," I winked.

The plane took off and this time, Jack was wide awake. We talked the entire flight, until we flew over New York City. He took one glance out that window and I lost him for the few moments we flew over the totally illuminated Manhattan.

"Isn't that amazing?" I asked, once we were finally past it.

"Yeah—I've never seen anything like that before!"

"I love flying at night just for that reason—all of the major cities you fly over and lit up—only if it's a clear night though,"

"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts. We're going to begin our decent into the Boston area. The current weather is around 20 degrees Fahrenheit and clear. We'll be landing in approximately 10 minutes,"

"Alright Jack, keep watching out the window," I instructed him as he began our landing. This was all so routine to me from flying home for every break from school the past four years.

"Alright, you should be seeing the city right before we land on the ground," I waited a few moments and finally I got my reaction.

"Oh wow!" Jack exclaimed as Boston came into view, totally illuminated. The lit-up buildings flew past us as we landed. He turned to me.

"I love your city already," he smiled. I smiled back at him.

"I remember the first time I had that view. I came home for Thanksgiving break my freshman year and I was almost in tears when I got off the plane. The other times I had flown home for breaks it was always raining and gross out so I never got a nice view of the city as we landed—but it's breath-taking isn't it?"

"Yeah it was," we got up from our seats, gathered our things and exited the aircraft. As we walked through the gate and through the terminal Jack looked more nervous.

"Are you sure your parents are okay with me coming?" he asked, almost breathlessly.

"Yes! I told them you were coming and they are very excited to meet you, as is my family, which you'll actually be meeting some of them tonight," I looked at him, unsure of how he would react to that.

"Tonight!" He exclaimed.

"Oh look! It's my parents!" I exclaimed as I spotted my mother and father near the baggage claim. I ran over to them and hugged them.

"Hey! I've missed you guys! Merry Christmas!" I hugged and kissed them.

"Hey honey! Have a safe flight?" My dad asked.

"Yeah it was fine," I replied. I turned to Jack and smiled.

"Mom, dad, this is Jack. He's from Detroit—don't worry, he's a good guy," I laughed.

"It's great meeting you," Jack said as he shook their hands.

"It's great to finally meet you, Jack," dad said.

"We hear all about you," my mom chimed him.

"Alright! Well we're glad to be back!" I cut in.

"Are you sure you guys wanna come to Papa's tonight?" my mom asked as we walked out to the car.

"Yeah! Definitely!" I said affirmatively. I turned to Jack.

"Jack, we always go to my Papa's apartment in East Boston for Christmas eve. Every year since I was born and before it's been there. It's just this amazing tradition—we eat lobster, and linguini with lobster gravy and shrimp—we're Italian incase you didn't know, and it's just my family and my cousins and it's amazing! We all wait for it like every year,"

"It sounds fun," he replied, smiling.

At my Papa's that evening, I introduced Jack to my Papa, my mother's cousin, Debbie, and her husband, Brian. They really took a liking to Jack, and Jack really seemed to have fun joking around with Debbie. Debbie was always so hilarious and crazy and that's what we all loved about her. The night was going well, helping my grandfather prepare for tomorrow night. Jack was helping me crush Ritz crackers for stuffing the lobsters and my mother and Debbie were getting the lobster gravy ready (we call tomato sauce gravy in Boston). All was going well until my dad brought up the lobsters to kill them. Jack was passing by my dad to get to the bathroom and wash his hands just as he was killing a lobster. Jack looked over at the lobster being killed and cringed.

"I know, I hate it too, Jack" I called over to him.

"What?" My dad asked. "He's afraid of killing the lobsters too?"

"Dad, it's sad and gross!"

"Gross like this?" My dad had some of the green 'tamale' on his hand and showed it to Jack, jokingly. "Come on, Jack, eat it, it's a delicacy!"

"Ew, no!" I shrieked. Suddenly, I saw Jack's face turn white as he fell to the floor, completely passed out.


	12. Announcement

**12. Announcement**

_Hey all! Sorry this chapter is so long...but I think you'll like it!_

"I feel like such a fucking idiot," Jack said to me the next morning at my house, sitting at the kitchen table.

"Jack, they didn't take any offense at al last night! I would have passed out too if I had never seen that shit either! Trust me.."

"They probably hate me,"

"No, they don't hate you! They felt really bad about it. Trust me, they like you,"

"I dunno…"

"Jack stop it. It'll be something to remember. Something that will be funny as time passes," I held his hand and kissed it.

"Oh shit, I never called Bobby last night. Mind if I call him real quick?"

"Go for it," he left the table and went out the front door. My parents came into the kitchen.

"Where's Jack?" My mom asked, sitting down next to me.

"He's outside calling his brother," I replied.

"How's he feeling?" My dad asked, with a chuckle.

"Fine. He just feels really bad about it," I replied, grinning a little.

"Oh, tell him it's no big deal! It'll give us something to joke about tonight! He'll get comfortable real fast with our family," my dad said, laughing. I shook my head, trying not to laugh. My dad was crazy—always joking around.

That evening came very fast. Jack was freaking out because he didn't know what to wear.

"Jack! Wear whatever you're comfortable in! It's gonna be hot in that little apartment with everyone there. Wear something cool that you won't sweat in!"

"How about this?" He held up his black tee with skull and cross bones on it. I paused for a moment.

"How about this?" I pulled out a gray tee-shirt and a black button down shirt to go over it. "This way if you get hot you can take off the black shirt,"

"I like the way you think," he smiled and leaned in and kissed me. As he did, my dad walked into the room.

"Whoa! The hanky-panky can come later tonight—are you guys almost ready?" He asked. Jack turned a bright shade of red.

"Yes dad!" I laughed. He left and Jack just fell over onto my bed, mortified.

"You're dad is going to hate me by the time we leave!" He said, his voice muffled.

"Jack! He doesn't care! He jokes around about everything," I pulled him off the bed. He just stared at me, then finally he smiled.

"You look real nice," he said.

"Thanks," replied. "You get dressed! I'll be in the living room!" I left him in my room.

Before I knew it, we were back in East Boston at my Papa's apartment for Christmas Eve. I introduced Jack to everyone—they all seemed to like him a lot. My cousins really liked him too, since we spent most of our time with them, laughing and watching TV—mostly the South Park Christmas specials. We ate tons of food, had more laughs and finally left my favorite holiday a little after midnight.

The next day, we went to my Aunt's house for Christmas day. There, we ate even more good food—lasagna, salad, bread, meatballs, sausage, prime rib and potatoes. Such a great holiday! My cousin's grandmother, Italina, who was from Italy especially liked Jack. She kept talking to him and commenting on his hair. I could tell from his responses that at times he had no clue what she was saying to him. She spoke English decently, but when she got into a very heated conversation, her English becomes less comprehensible.

Nonetheless, that night after we left my Aunt's, lying in bed with me, Jack told me he had a great time and that he really enjoyed my family.

"I'd never trade mom or my brothers for anything, but seeing a family like yours really makes me wish that sometimes I had that," he said.

"Jack, your brothers love you so much. It doesn't matter whether you have cousins, or aunts or uncles or grandparents. All of those are really great to have, but you have a bond with your brothers that I'll never have—and many people never will have even if they do have siblings,"

"I guess you're right. But still, it just seems nice to have holidays with you're whole family there, you know?"

"Yeah, I do know. But I do also know that once my parents are gone, I'm only gonna have my family—I have no siblings to mourn with—or in your case, hunt after the killer with," He chuckled at that.

"Well, let's combine families, then," he said. "You can share my brothers if I can share your cousins and aunts and uncles,"

"Okay. Sounds good," I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder.

_A couple days later…_

After the holidays, I took Jack into the city with my friends one night to go to Fire and Ice. We all had a great time essentially making our own entrees, and Jack had a great time meeting and mingling with my friends from high school. He really enjoyed my best friend, Matt, who happened to really be gay. Matt told me later on that he really liked Jack too. Matt's approval was essential to me, since he was, after all, my gay best friend. If he approved, I usually approved, and vice versa. Before we left the city, Matt pulled Jack aside and told him something, but I wasn't sure what it was…and Jack wouldn't tell me either afterwards.

Two days later, Jack and my friends and I all went sledding. We had the time of our lives, laughing, and falling off the sled and rolling down the huge hill. Unfortunately the day was coming to a close. My friend, Hayley, suggested that we all go into the city again—go skating and get some dinner. We agreed that'd be a good time, since Jack and I were going to be leaving for Detroit in a couple of days.

"I didn't bring my skates though," Jack said.

"I have a pair at my house you could use," Matt said, "you can just come back with me. Ange can go with Hayley and we'll meet up in the city. That sound good to you ladies?"

"Sure! We'll meet you in there around…6:30?" Hayley suggested.

"Alright! See you then!" Matt pulled Jack off with him. I didn't have any time to object or anything. The plans were made. Seemed a bit odd that Jack would go with Matt, but I wasn't going to question anything.

"So where we eating for dinner?" I asked on our way back.

"I dunno! Maybe Quincy Market? Let's get dressed up real nice though. You know, celebrate being all together again?" Hayley suggested. I agreed. Sounded nice. We both wore nice dresses and did our hair up nicely.

We drove into the city. We planned on meeting Jack and Matt outside of the Prudential (the "Pru" as we called it). Hayley pulled up next to a parked car.

"Why don't you get out and wait for them while I go park," she said suddenly. I shrugged.

"Alright," I got out of the car and walked up to the sidewalk. I waited there for a moment or so. No Matt or Jack pulling up yet. I began pacing around, waiting for Hayley, or Matt or Jack to show up.

"You wanna go on inside?" I voice asked me from behind. I turned around to see Jack standing there. His hair was combed all the way back and he wore his black jacket with his scarf. I also noticed he was wearing really nice black shoes.

"Jack! You looked fabulous!" I exclaimed.

"As do you," he smiled and kissed me. "Wanna go inside?"

"Oh, we're waiting for Hayley…where's Matt?" I asked looking around. "We're gonna eat at Quincy Market I guess,"

"Actually, we're having dinner here," he said.

"Here? You mean the top of the Hub!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah. And 'we' as in you and me," he said.

"But…what about Matt and Hayley?" I asked, confusedly and astonished at the same time.

"They planned this all out—they're gonna eat somewhere else in Boston, but yeah, they made the reservations for us and everything,"

"Oh my God, Jack, this is incredible!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe you! You kept this from me…since when!"

"Since that night I met Matt for the first time…remember we talked alone for a moment? Well it was about this. I told him I wanted to take you out somewhere, and he told me about this place, and he and Hayley took it from there,"

"Jack, that is so sweet,"

"Well, we could stand out here and gawk at each other all night, or we can go inside and gawk there over dinner," he laughed.

"Let's go in then," I smiled. He held out his arm and we walked arm-in-arm.

The top of the Hub is one of the best restaurants in Boston, located at the top of the Prudential Building. It's a rotating restaurant—it slowly rotates so you get a view of the entire city while you eat, if you have a window seat. Jack and I had a window table. It was the most amazing dinner—and the fact it was spent with Jack made it all the more amazing. I couldn't help but smile every time I looked at him while we talked. He glowed in the candle light and it made me heart melt. I wanted to tell him I loved him, but I wasn't sure if it'd freak him out—moving too fast or anything. I kept it to myself that evening.

After dinner, Jack and I went back out to the chilly streets of Boston, far below the Pru.

"What now, Jackie?" I asked.

"I was thinking, maybe a little round of ice skating," he said.

"I don't have my skates though," I replied. "They're in Hayley's car,"

"Oh contraire," he laughed. "Let's go," we walked all the way to Frog Pond, where, when we got there, Jack told me to wait by the tree. When he came back, he had my skates, and the hockey skates Matt let him borrow.

"But…how?" I asked confusedly.

"It matters not," he replied with a huge grin. I just laughed at him. We sat on a bench and laced up.

"I'll race you to the ice," I said to him once I was finished lacing.

"You're on," he replied. We both got up and ran in our skates, to the ice. I got there before him slightly, but he picked me up and moved me out of the way and stepped onto the ice and set me back down on the ground.

"Beat you!" He snickered as he skated away.

"You jerk! Get back here!" I chased him onto the ice. We chased each other all over the ice, winding in and out and between other skaters until he finally caught me at the other end of the rink.

"Hey Ange," he said.

"What?" I asked. He was silent for a moment until I turned towards him fully. "What is it?" He took a couple breathes before he said anything.

"I would have told you back in North Carolina, but I figured there's no better way to say it than to say it in the city you love most. Ange, I love you," he said, looking me in the eyes. Tears began to form in my eyes.

"Jack, I love you too!" I smiled and wrapped my arms around him. We kissed and just held each other there for some time.

"That's why I couldn't have sex with you, Ange. It didn't feel right not having told you that I love you first. I couldn't tell you that night—it would have seemed like I was just saying it to get in your pants!" I laughed, because I knew it was true.

"Yeah, I know what you mean,"

"But I don't think you know how much I love you, though," he said with a grin.

"Well how much? Enough to have sex with me?" I laughed.

"Yes, enough to have sex with you…but the whole world should know,"

"What?" I raised an eyebrow, not sure I understood what he meant. He turned from me and yelled at the top of his lungs to the entire pond of skaters and anyone else that heard.

"I want everyone here to know that I love this woman—that I'm in love with Ange D'agostino!" He turned back to me. We both laughed and hugged again. It all just felt so right.


	13. Jack is Drunk

**13. Jack is Drunk**

_Hey all! Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you are enjoying it! Sorry this chapter is so short, but I needed a transition chapter!_

That night, we had ended up meeting back up with Hayley and Matt at this club called "The Rack" near Faneuil Hall. We partied till the club closed and Hayley drove us back to my house. Jack and I were both a bit drunk when we got back, as we stumbled into my house. I shushed him as I checked to see if my mom was awake. Everyone seemed to be sleeping and Jack led me into the den.

"Jack! I'm tired, I wanna go to bed!" I complained drunkenly as he pulled me onto the couch with him. He took off his jacket and threw it on the floor.

"In a bit, baby. I wanna just sit here with you for a little while," he slurred into my ear as he took my coat off me and threw it next to his.

"Okay, just for a little while," I laughed as he started kissing me. We got pretty intense making out—he was into my pants when something I never expected happened.

"Ange, wanna have sex?" He asked.

"Jack, I want to…but not here! My parents are home. I think we should wait until we get back to Detroit,"

"But I think I could really rock you good right now," he winked his glazed-over eye. I just laughed.

"Jack! I bet you could—but I also know that if you 'rocked me good', my parents would hear, and that would be wicked embarrassing, not only for me, but for you,"

"But Ange! I'm so ready!"

"I am too—but I'll be more ready later…back in Detroit," He stood up and began taking off his pants.

"I'm gonna make you scream Ange! You're gonna be goin' nuts!"

"Jack! Not now!" I stood up and pulled his pants up to his hips and buckled them.

"You don't wanna have sex with me?" He asked, sitting back down looking deflated and sad. It was definitely the alcohol talking.

"Jackie, you know I do. I just can't do it here tonight. Like you said back in North Carolina—it'll happen, just not yet,"

"Back in Detroit though? What is Bobby or Angel or Jerry walks in!" He exclaimed, almost in tears.

"That's why we'll do it at my house," I winked at him to make him feel better.

"New Year's eve?" He asked.

"I don't like planning anything like this, but probably," I replied with a smile. "Now let's get to bed. We've got a plane to catch tomorrow," I led him upstairs and to my bedroom. We got ready for bed and attempted to sleep.

Just as I started to drift into sleep, I felt Jack's hand migrate from just being around my waist to my boob. I turned over to see Jack giggling like a drunken idiot behind me. I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Jack! I'm trying to sleep!" I whispered.

"I know! And I'm trying to make it so you can't!" He laughed.

"Jack! Please let me get some sleep," I stared at him until he gave in.

"Alright, fine. Good night," he said. I kissed him and turned around.

A moment later, I felt Jack's hand move directly into my pj pants.

"Jack! Stop it!" I whispered again as I turned over to face him.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist," he chuckled. "Don't be mad Ange! I love you, remember!" I couldn't help but smile. I kissed him.

"No more, okay?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No more,"

"Okay, good. I'll see you in the morning," I turned back over and tried to get some sleep.

What a long night that turned into…


	14. The New Year's Eve Conquest: Part I

**14. The New Year's Eve Conquest: Part I**

_Hey all! Sorry it's been a couple days since I've written! Thank you to EVERYONE for your reviews, especially (in no particular order hehe) oOoDancingQueenoOo, Iluvgarretthedlund, xXxLOLAxXx_! _You guys rock! Yay! Keep reading and reviewing! OH! This chapter might get sexual, but I promise after this chapter no more horniness…unless it is requested of ;-)_

The entire night, Jack had been trying to get into my pants. I probably got about a total of 3 hours' sleep until we had to wake up—which didn't matter, since we were already awake. That morning, I noticed that Jack was actually sleeping, so I ran into the bathroom to quickly take a shower. I just began washing my hair with the shampoo when I felt a slight breeze. I thought nothing of it and kept washing until suddenly the shower curtain opened and Jack stepped into the shower with me. My eyes just widened initially at naked Jack getting all wet in front of me. Then the shock just came in the form of a huge vocal gasp.

"Jack! What are you doing! My parents are gonna wake up soon!" I exclaimed in a whisper as loudly as I could to emphasize my point.

"Ange, I'm just conserving water. I don't know what you think I wanna do," he said playfully, wrapping an arm around me. I pulled away from him immediately.

"Oh bullshit! Jack, you have to leave the bathroom right away before they wake up!" I panicked. I had enough trouble convincing my parents to let Jack sleep in the same bed as me—there was NO way they could catch him in the shower with me.

"Alright, I'll leave. But you owe me big time when we get back to Detroit," he said.

"Okay, I owe you big time. I'll blow you off in a hot tub. What do you want from me?" I asked with a little lightness in my voice. I couldn't entirely be pissed at him—I mean, Jack was ripped and standing wet and naked in a shower with me. I smiled and grabbed him for a kiss before he got out.

"Ange? Are you in there?" my mom's voice echoed in the bathroom suddenly. My heart dropped into my stomach. I quickly shoved Jack down to the bottom of the bathtub so he was laying flat below me—needless to say that probably didn't help his horniness, having a royal view, if you know what I mean. It was my only option.

"Yeah, mom—I'm in here!" I exclaimed, sounding irritated that she would bother me in the shower.

"Okay, I wasn't sure if it was Jack, since he's not in your room. Do you know where he is? Dad wants to talk to him," my heart raced even faster.

"Um, I think he might be in the bathroom downstairs. If not, I'll find him for you when I get out of here,"

"Okay. Want some breakfast?" God, wouldn't she just hurry up and leave already?

"Sure—sounds good," I said quickly.

"What do you want?"

"Anything. Surprise me," I replied curtly. There was some silence so I assumed she closed the door. I peeked out of the curtain and saw she was gone.

"Oh my God, Jack," I whispered to him, trying to pull him to his feet. "Jack! Get up!"

"This is a fabulous view down here," he laughed and winked up at me.

"Jesus, Jack! Like you've never seen one before!" I angrily whispered, dragging him to his feet.

"Okay, since you're already wet, and I'm half way done, you might as well just stay in here until I'm done. I'll sneak out and go to my room and when my mom asks where you are, I'll say you just got into the shower, okay?"

"Sounds good," he smiled, and sat back down in the tub. I watched him for a moment, and shook my head as I continued to wash up.

When I finished, I got out of the shower and wrapped up in a towel, peeked my head out of the bathroom and ran for my room. Just as I got to my room and put on some underwear and clothes, my mom came in.

"Ange, have you found Jack yet?" she asked immediately.

"I just saw him go into the bathroom—I think he's showering,"

"Oh, okay," she replied, "breakfast will be ready soon,"

"Awesome," I replied with a smile. Finally, she left and I dried my hair, put on makeup and packed up my things. Jack waltzed into my room wearing just his towel low around his waist. My heart nearly stopped at the sight of him.

"Don't do this to me, Jack," I said as he came closer to me.

"Do what?" He asked as he kissed me.

"That!" I exclaimed.

"Ange! Breakfast!" My mom called from downstairs.

"Breakfast!" I exclaimed, pulling away from him. "Come on, babe!" Jack just laughed as he watched me run out of the room. Oh, he was going to have his way with me, even if it took all day to get there.

All throughout breakfast, Jack kept kicking my feet and molesting my leg with his foot. I kept giving him death stares, but he'd just smirk and keep doing it.

The entire ride to the airport, Jack would try caressing me in the backseat with BOTH my parents in the front. I'd have to keep slapping his hands away from me. I was surprised my parents didn't notice. Thankfully, they were engaged in a conversation of their own.

When we got to the airport, we said our good-byes. I hugged and kissed my parents, and Jack shook their hands. So far, Jack had seemed to make a good enough impression—if only they had seen what was going on behind the scenes!

The whole plane ride, Jack kept asking if I'd like to join him for a brief meeting in the bathroom. I merely told him that there would be no way two people could fit in there and that there was no way I was having sex with him for the first time on a fucking airplane. He'd just laugh and keep asking me. All I could think of how I was gonna get him back once we got to Detroit. Two could play this game.


	15. The New Year's Eve Conquest: Part II

**14. The New Year's Eve Conquest: Part II**

_Disclaimer: this part contains sexual content. Don't read this part if sexual encounters makes you uncomfortable! If you like reading about Jack being naked…please continue!_

_Once in Detroit…_

We met Bobby and Angel at ground transportation. Jack and his brothers embraced, as they were all glad to see each other again. Jack and I got into the back seat of Angel's car and I began my plan of revenge. While Jack was in the middle of talking with Angel and Bobby about the holidays and hearing about their holiday, I leaned down and put my head near Jack's crotch as though I were preparing to give him oral. He suddenly smacked my head away.

"Jack!" I exclaimed with a smirk on my face.

"Ange, what are you doing?" he asked, as though he knew the answer already.

"Oh I was just tying my shoe," I laughed. As our eyes stared into one another's, it was as if we exchanged a "you're on" war. That entire car ride, I kept trying to get my hands down his pants, and he kept smacking them away. As we rounded the corner to where my house was, I started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Jack asked.

"Jack! Don't touch me there!" I exclaimed through laughter. Jack's eyes just widened as Angel's head whipped around.

"What are you two hornballs doing back there that can't wait til later!" he exclaimed.

"Nothing!" Jack replied, tossing me an "I'm gonna get you back for that" glance.

"Right," Angel replied sarcastically.

"Jack, just because you're not gay now, that doesn't give you the right to fuck around in Angel's car," Bobby chuckled.

"We're not fucking around, Bobby!" Jack exclaimed.

"Sure. You guys can do all you want on your own time. All I'm asking if you wait til you're alone, that's all," Bobby calmly stated. You could tell he was trying hard not to laugh. The entire time Jack was defending himself, I was just sitting there trying not to burst out laughing. Finally, we got to my house. Jack walked me into the house with my bags. Once inside, he dropped my bags and leaned me up against a wall where his brothers couldn't see us. He pressed his body against mine and kissed me.

"We're finishing this war tonight," he said. I just laughed.

"Here?" I asked.

"Yes, here," he replied.

"The ball drops at midnight. Be here at 10," I said.

"I'll see you then," he kissed me again and then left. For the first time in our relationship, Jack and I didn't seem awkward toward sex and I really liked it.

10:00 PM came quicker than I had anticipated. I had everything all ready for my steamy evening with Jack. I laughed inside my head thinking about it being a steamy evening. My life felt like some cheesy porno—I actually laughed out loud at one point thinking about how ridiculous it was going to be. I told myself that the only way it wouldn't feel cheesy would be if we weren't anticipating sex. Of course we were both expecting it to happen, but to me, the best sex is never really planned—and that's the way I decided to think as I readied myself and my house.

I had champagne for midnight, hard liquor for me, beer for Jack, food for both of us, candles, and of course, condoms up in the bedroom—just in case. At exactly 10, there was a knock at my door and I opened the door for Jack. He came in acting as if nothing sexual was going to happen and it made me feel a lot more comfortable with everything seeing that he had the same mindset as me.

"Beer?" I asked him as I took his coat and hung it up.

"Yeah, thanks, babe. Happy New Year," he kissed me before I got him a beer.

"You too," I smiled as I got him a beer. I came back to him sitting down. I gave him his beer and in my other hand I was holding a bottle of rum and a shot glass.

"I'm getting this New Year's Eve started off right," I laughed as I opened the bottle and poured some rum into the shot glass. Jack laughed as I pounded it. Not too bad—nothing like vodka or tequila. After I pounded two more shots, and Jack had a few more beers, we were both feeling the liquor, but not so much as to inhibit our thinking, which was good.

"I say we start this New Year's Eve off right again," he said, pulling me onto him.

"Jack! Are we doing this again!" I asked playfully.

"You know it, baby," he said as he kissed me. "We have to finish what we've started,"

"Well, when you put it like that, I guess you're right," I smiled as he continued to kiss me.

"Let's do this upstairs," he said finally, as he was about to take off my shirt, "you know, in case somebody comes to the window or door or something,"

"Meaning your brothers checking up on us?" I laughed.

"Yeah, pretty much," he agreed with a chuckle. I got off of him and began walked over to the staircase when he pulled me close to him. He leaned me up against the wall and began kissing my neck and running his hands all over my body. He went to take off my shirt but I pushed his hands away and pulled away from his kiss.

"Uh-uh. Not until we're upstairs," I said softly. I took my hand and led me up the stairs, but I stopped him midway up the stairs and pushed him against the wall and kissed him. I ran my hands down his body and stopped right above his crotch, as I pressed my body close to his. His breathing was heavy and I just smirked at him. The suspense was killing him and I loved every moment of it.

"This is killing me," he said, his voice a little shaky and breathy as he dragged me up the rest of the stairs to my bedroom, which was lit with candles. He shut the door and then resumed kissing me. Unexpectedly, I dropped to my knees and unbuckled his pants. I could see him quickly shiver as his pants fell to the floor and I revealed him to me. I started giving him head and he began breathing heavily almost as soon as I started. I then suddenly got to my feet and he abruptly began taking off my shirt. I glided his shirt off over his head and ran my hands down his body as I went back down on him. I gave him oral for a while until he stopped me.

"Whoa, whoa, Ange," he pulled me to my feet and walked me backwards over to the bed. He laid me down on the bed and slipped my pants down to my ankles and tossed them on the floor beside the bed. He started kissing my inner thigh and worked his way up, tricking me as he kissed me further up—my stomach, and further up, my breasts, my neck and finally my lips. As he kissed me, he slipped my underwear off and flung them to the ground. He moved his hand down there and began fingering me. He only did it momentarily, and then moved down on me. He ate me out—again with that fabulous tongue ring—until I was breathless and moaning. He stopped.

"Jack, please don't stop," I urged, panting. He shook his head, a smile curling on his lips. I grabbed him and pulled him down to me, kissing him feverishly as I ran my hands and fingers through his hair. He slowly pulled away from my lips and whispered into my ear.

"I want to make love to you now," he whispered. I nodded my head as he sat up. I retrieved a condom from my nightstand drawer and put it on him.

"Missionary position?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Sounds good for starters," I laughed as he lowered himself on me again.

"Before I go in, when was the last time you had sex? Are you tight?" He asked softly, his voice low so to not ruin the moment.

"Let's put it this way, it's been a while. Go easy on me," I replied, closing my eyes.

"I promise you I wont hurt you. If I do, just tell me and it'll stop," he said and kissed my forehead. "Ready?"

"Yeah,"

He fingered me a little to loosen up a bit, as well as help guide himself in. I had a feeling it would hurt only because I hadn't had sex in a long while—not to mention Jack was huge—bigger than anything I'd ever had before. I was right—it hurt at first, but we went in slowly, kissing me when he could tell I was in pain to keep my mind off of being in pain.

"Augh," I groaned, the pain getting worse than it was initially, "are you in yet?"

"Almost,"

"Jeez, you're huge," I choked out, through pain and laughter. He chuckled with me. I winced a bit more, but he continued to kiss me for a few moments more.

"I'm in," he said finally. I let out a sigh of relief that was no more penis left to go in me. It felt like nothing I'd ever felt before—it felt like he was in my stomach!

"I didn't realize how tight you were—okay, I'm gonna pulse a little. It's gonna hurt at first but I think you'll loosen up, okay baby?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Just grab onto me, or the bed or something if it gets unbearable," he smiled. I nodded and held onto him tightly, bracing myself for the worst. I shut my eyes tightly, but he didn't do anything.

"Ange, don't close your eyes," he said. I opened my eyes and saw him smiling at me, and as he gazed into my eyes, I didn't even notice him thrusting. What I assumed would be utter pain, ended up just feeling like a lot of pressure, and soon enough, began feeling like sex again.

We had sex—and it was amazing. It was our first time with each other, so nothing really daring or kinky happened, but it was fabulous nonetheless. It was romantic—just the way it should've been.

Our breathing was heavier than ever as we approached climax.

"Oh God, Jack," I panted as he began to slow down. "Don't stop yet…"

I had never had a real orgasm, which is typical for the majority of sexually active women. It's just a known fact that many women do not orgasm every time they have sex. I, had never had an orgasm—but Jack knew what he was doing, and thanks to him, I got there. I hit climax for the first time and I cried out his name so loud that I would have sworn the neighbors heard—or even worse—Jack's brothers. Right after I hit orgasm, Jack climaxed. After he finished, he just collapsed on top of me, breathless, waiting for himself to shrink a bit so he could pull out. Finally he pulled out. He ran out of the bedroom and threw the condom away in the bathroom. He came running back to find me lying there, still stunned at the orgasm.

"Jack—you're the first man to ever conquer me like that," I laughed finally, as he joined me on the bed. He laughed with me.

"Happy New Year's, Ange," he declared with a smile.

"What time is it?" I asked suddenly. He looked over at the clock.

"11:25," he replied.

"We still have time," I said with a smile.

"For what?"

"To do it again," I laughed.


	16. Interrogation

**15. Interrogation**

_Sorry it's been a while since my last update! My roommate's boyfriend was here all weekend and I couldn't really find alone time to write! Thank you all SO much for your reviews! I hope you enjoy!_

Jack and I did it twice before midnight, and once more after midnight. After that last round, Jack and I just laid in bed and talked.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm curious…" I began saying, as I turned onto my side, facing him, "I promise I won't get upset or anything, but, I was wondering…just how many women have you been with?" Jack chuckled a light laugh before answering.

"I had a feeling you might ask that," he said finally, a smile forming on his lips as he lit up his cigarette.

"Oh really?" I asked, laughing, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Well, I'm not gonna lie to you—I've been with a lot of women,"

"Romantically or sexually?"

"Sexually. I've had sex with a lot of girls, Ange, but I want you to know it's never meant anything. Every time I've had sex in the past, it's always just bee for the physical pleasure and whatnot,"

"Yeah, I get you. But let me guess, with me it's different, right?" I asked, chuckling a bit, trying to make my sarcasm to seem less harsh.

"Yeah, Ange, it actually is. And I know that sounds incredibly cheesy and fake and probably like every other guy out there. I'm gonna tell you right now though, I've never had sex before and had it mean something. It's never been special and it's always just been for pleasure—for sex,"

"I can't believe you've never had sex and had it mean something," I said, somewhat skeptical and yet astonished.

"Well, okay, here's the thing, the only time it ever meant anything to me was the first time I had sex with a girl. You know the shit that I went through with my uncle, so I wasn't a virgin for a long time, and knowing that, you probably understand why it hits home so much when Bobby always teases me about being gay, cus for a long time, I would wonder: 'well, what if I am gay? I'm not attracted to men, but I've only had sex with men,' and when I finally did have sex with a woman for the first time, it was not only important to me because I finally had sex with a girl for pleasure and actually experience sex as a good thing rather than a negative thing, but it also made me overcome that stigma that was placed on me at a very young age of possibly being gay. It made me realize that I really wasn't gay. So, yeah, the first time I had sex with a girl was special because of that—but every other time afterwards, it was just for fun. Fucking for pleasure and that's it. Morning would come and there would be no talking. Just get dressed and leave. There was never any special connection—nothing. Sex has always been purely physical with me—except with you, Ange. With you, it's something I've never experienced before. It scares me, because I don't know if how I feel right now, and how I felt right before we did it earlier, and how I felt during it, is normal. If feeling scared and nervous is how I'm supposed to feel. And it scares me cus I'm absolutely crazy about you—but at the same time, after having sex with you, us just talking and sharing this moment means so much to me—probably more than having the actual sex…because sex with you is different—it's something I want to _share_ with you rather than _get _from you,"

By this time, I had tears in my eyes, "Jack, I had no idea," I choked out. He too, had tears in his eyes. He just smiled and wiped his eyes.

"You had no idea I was crazy about you?" he laughed as he wrapped his arms around me.

"No, I had a little bit of an idea," I laughed back, "I just had no idea about you felt about us having sex,"

"Well it's the truth. You're special to me, and therefore sex is something special to me. All of this is so new to me,"

"It's all new to me too, Jackie," I said.

"You've been in relationships before—and you've shared sex with other guys before me though,"

"Yes, but who's to say I felt the same way about them that I do for you?" I asked.

"I dunno. I just can't believe that you don't mind about my having sex with lot's of other girls,"

"Well believe it. I don't care what you did in the past—as long as you don't have any STD's or AIDs or something. But even if you did, we'd work with it. You're worth it," He smiled and kissed me.

"You don't have to worry about that shit. I may have had sex with a lotta girls, and I might have done drugs, but I was safe about it!"

"Okay, good," I laughed.

"Did you see me? I was all over those condoms before we had sex!" he laughed.

"Excuse me? I provided those condoms!" I exclaimed, still laughing.

"Well, I came prepared," he said as he reached off the bed into his pants and pulled out a string of about 10 condoms from his pocket. "See?" I just laughed at him.

"So Ange, how about you? When was your first time? He asked, finally settling back with me on the bed.

"Well, it's kind of embarrassing and I don't know if I told you otherwise before, but I lost my virginity my sophomore year of college to my boyfriend, Matt, at the time. However, my freshman year of college, my ex-boyfriend from high school at the time, Chris, and I attempted having sex over winter break. We failed miserably—he could barely get it in! So, I was an attempted sex-but-failed virgin for the rest of my freshman year until well into my sophomore year. Then, when Matt and I broke up the end of my sophomore year, Chris and I got back together during the summer before my junior year. He and I tried sex again and we succeeded. So he was pretty much the last guy I had sex with before you tonight,"

"Wow—you haven't had sex since the summer before your junior year!"

"No! Chris and I had sex a lot that year—and during the summer before senior year. We broke up like a month before going back to school—so like the last time I had sex was like…six or seven months ago, which I guess is a while ago, but it could have been worse,"

"No wonder why your friends wanted to you to get laid so badly," Jack laughed.

"Ha! Yeah really…wait, you knew about that!" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah I knew! I was only standing on the balcony! Your friends talk really loud," he laughed.

"I am SO sorry, Jack!" I exclaimed, feeling horrible about the sex bet back at school.

"No! Don't be! I thought it was funny, especially since I knew we weren't gonna have sex that night and you tried so hard,"

"What! Jack! You _let_ me try to get you to have sex and knew all along we weren't going to!" Jack laughed even harder.

"Yeah! You know why now though—I wanted to tell you I loved you first," he said, trying to calm down a bit.

"But you could have told me earlier that night before I tried getting you into bed! Then we could have had sex that night!" I exclaimed. He just looked at me in bewilderment.

"Damn," he said, then started laughing again. I just shook my head and laughed with him.

"We're too crazy, Jack,"

"I know it. But that's why I love you,"


	17. Singers

**16. Singers**

_Disclaimer: Hey all! Thank you so much for the reviews! I also changed the rating incase of more sexual incidences ;) I do not own Elton John or any of his songs. Also, in this chapter, there will be some deleted scene imagery used early on regarding Jack in tight underwear…hehehe. ENJOY!_

Jack and I fell asleep and didn't wake up until late that next morning on New Year's Day. I woke up and saw Jack sleeping soundly. I didn't want to wake him, so I carefully crawled over him, threw some clothes on and went downstairs. Once downstairs, I put on some soft rock (Elton John) and started making breakfast. I was dancing around the kitchen to "Crocodile Rock", cracking eggs and frying bacon and singing along with Sir Elton when Jack waltzed down the stairs and stood in the doorway to the kitchen. I didn't even notice him there. I was too busy singing and dancing and cooking to see Jack standing there in his tight white underwear grinning at me leaning on his arm. The song changed to "That's Why They Call it the Blues".

"….laughing like children, livin' like lovers, rollin' like thunder under the covers—and I guess that's why they call it the blues!" I sang as I flipped the bacon. I spun around to go back to the fridge for some juice when I sudden saw Jack in the doorway. Startled, I shrieked and started laughing as I fell to the floor like an idiot.

"JACK! You scared me!" I exclaimed from the floor, laughing, "And you saw me dancing and singing!" Jack just continued to stand there, laughing at me. I sat up and finally caught my breath. The song had already changed by this point to "Your Song" came on

"So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do, you see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue, anyway the thing is, what I really mean—your's are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen!" Jack sang, as he helped me off the floor.

"Aww Jack, Elton John is so sweet," I laughed as I went back to the bacon and eggs.

"I forgot you sang, Jack," I said as I finished up the bacon and eggs.

"Ange, I'm in a band!" he exclaimed as he stole a piece of bacon.

"I knew that—sorta," I laughed, "I think that's fabulous. What's your band's name?"

"Pragmatic Sanction," he replied with a grin. I burst out into laughter.

"Pragmatic Sanction! I learned about something like that in history class back in high school!"

"Yeah, I figured as much—but it's a great name!" he replied, stealing another piece of bacon. I snatched the plate of bacon away from him and placed it on the table.

"True, it is a good name. So is 'scorched earth policy'," I replied.

"Actually, that's the name of one of our songs," he laughed.

"What did you guys do! Read a history text book and name your songs after the vocab lists?" I laughed as I plated the eggs.

"That's a good idea!" he replied.

"Actually, I was in a chemistry class one year of high school, and there was this sign next to the wheel that turned on the gas to light the burners that said 'master gas valve' and I always thought that'd be a funny band name," I chuckled as I went to sit down at the table.

"Ange, you've never sung for me," Jack said as he pulled me from the chair.

"Jack, I can't sing right now! I just woke up!"

"You were singing Elton John," he smirked.

"I'll sing the day I see you sing and play with you band," I smirked back, knowing that would be a far off day.

"Good! I forgot to tell you, but we're having a local band concert this upcoming weekend," Jack replied. My mouth dropped.

"You don't wanna hear me sing. I sing opera. I don't know how to sing anything else,"

"Bullshit. I've heard you sing in the shower and in the car. I want you to open up for my band,"

"No fucking way. That is out of the question! Unless you want me to sing _Dido's Lament_ from Purcell's _Dido and Aeneas_—cus I can't sing rock or punk or pop or anything…"

"You said it yourself, if you're classically trained you can sing anything," he said, flinging my own words back in my face. I buried my face in his chest and screamed.

"Jack! Don't let me make an ass of myself in front of all your fans," I pleaded.

"You won't make an ass of yourself, Ange. Now sing something for me right now—anything…even classical. I've never heard you in your element,"

"Alright, fine," I gave in, "hang on, I need to find some music," I ran away and rummaged through my old music and came running back.

"Pretend you're having a recital," he laughed as he sat down in the chair.

"Okay," I said, getting into it. I laughed first, then took my stance seriously. "My name is Ange D'agostino, and I'll be singing Bizet's _Ouvre ton Coeur,_" I said formally, "oh yeah, this isn't supposed to be a cappella, but we'll have to deal," I said. I began to sing the aria. My French was a little rusty, but it wasn't all that bad. I finished the song and bowed. Jack clapped.

"That was gorgeous. I would have never have thought those kinds of sounds could come outta you," Jack laughed.

"Thanks," I replied.

"Now sing something you could sing for my band,"

"Nothing. There is nothing I can sing for your band, Jack. I'm classical! You heard me!"

"Shh," he calmed me, "now think. I know you enjoy all kinds of music, Ange. Think of something you can sing," I shut my eyes tightly and thought long and hard.

"I can't think of anything right now. Can I get back to you later?" I laughed.

"Fine by me, as long as you promise me you'll do this for me," he replied.

"Oh God," I sighed, "okay Jack. I promise you I'll open up for your band," His face lit up with a smile and he hugged me.

"Oh yeah, um, my band doesn't know I have a girlfriend…"

"Is this a secret?" I asked, a bit irritated.

"Kind of…" he replied.

"Jack! Why!"

"I'll tell them…just not yet!" he said, "I promise. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. They're not exactly into band members having girlfriends. They think that girls take time away from band time—which I don't care. But they will be pissed if they find out all this time we've taken off that I've been spending with you,"

"I get ya," I replied, a bit pissed.

"Ange, please don't be upset with me. They will find out. I will tell them. I promise,"

"I believe you," I replied, sitting down and eating my cold breakfast.


	18. Coming Out

**17. Coming Out**

_Disclaimer: I do not own the lyrics or the song the Ange sings in this chapter! ENJOY!_

That week went by faster than I could possibly believe. As the week progressed closer to the weekend, I grew more and more nervous. Saturday night was the big night—and it didn't help that Jack and I got into a bit of an argument on Friday night.

We had just had some pretty kinky sex when I asked him if he told his band about me. He hadn't.

"Jack! What the fuck! You told your brothers…"

"I didn't wanna tell them when I did! That was by accident!" I exclaimed, putting on his underwear.

"So you wish they didn't know?" I asked, feeling hurt. "Do I embarrass you?"

"Ange! You know I love you more than anything…"

"Then why the fuck do you want it to be a big secret? I love you too and I wanna tell the world! You even told the world when we were back in Boston! Why is Detroit different?"

"Ange—I have fans here…"

"Ohhh I see. You don't wanna lose all your female fans. Well, what about your biggest fan? Would you feel better if you lost me?"

"Ange, don't do this,"

"No Jack. Don't _you_ do this. I understand you have fans—but I'm your girlfriend. If having a girlfriend is gonna fuck things up for you, then maybe we shouldn't be together," I could feel tears begin to build up in my eyes as I spoke. My heart was racing for his response. I turned my back to him as I felt the tears stream down my face.

"No Ange. I refuse to do that. You're my everything…" he was behind me and he turned me around to see me crying. I didn't even know what to say. I loved him too much to say something—I was afraid I'd hurt him.

"Ange, say something, please," he said softly, his voice low and serene.

"I don't want to hurt you, Jack," I choked out.

"Hurt me? The only way you'd hurt me would be if you broke up with me," he said. His eye widened with a sudden fear that I was going top dump him then and there. I shook my head and leaned against him.

"I'm not breaking up with you, Jack…"

"Then why did you suggest it?"

"Because you are making it seem like being with me is a burden for you to be in your band. I understand that music and your band are the most important things in your life and I don't want to interfere with that you cherish most…"

"You're what I cherish most," I couldn't believe he just said that. I was silent.

"Then why keep us a secret any longer?" I asked. He didn't say anything and my heart sank. "Oh my God, Jack—you don't have another girlfriend do you!"

"Good God, no, Ange! I'd never do that to you! I thought you knew me better than that," he said as he turned away from me and continued dressing himself.

"Then what is it, Jackie? If it's not another girl and if it's nothing else…then what is it?"

"The guys in the band are great guys—but I worry about the way they'd treat you, Ange—and that's completely the truth,"

"That's it?" I asked, a grin almost forming on my lips.

"Yes—but…well, you'll see when you meet them. Let me put it this way—you're the type of girl they'd try to take advantage of and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable…"

"Jack, if they're you're friends, I trust them…"

"That's the problem—I don't trust them," I looked at him confused. Finally he just broke down.

"We'll tell them. Just don't let me out of your sight tomorrow," he said, taking me in his arms. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before and we had to have this argument over nothing,"

"It's okay Jack, cus I just figured out what I'm gonna sing,"

"Really? What is it!" he asked, getting excited.

"It's a surprise," I replied.

Saturday came…and I was so nervous to sing for Jack's band, as well as meeting these friends he didn't even trust. I decided to wear my Rolling Stones shirt, a pair of somewhat fitted jeans with some rips in them. Usually I wore my Converse sneakers to band concerts, but since I was performing, I figured I'd give myself a little height, so I wrote opened toed heels—not too high so that my feet would kill by the end. I wrote my hair curly, as usual, but just a little wilder than usual. Jack came and got me around 7. He looked amazing. His hair was all crazy and messy. He had on a black shirt with all kinds of weird stuff on it. It was ripped at the sleeves and he had on jeans with his typical pocket chain. He carried his guitar on his back. His eyes lit up as soon as he saw me. I smiled back at him.

Once we got to the concert space, we congregated backstage and I met his bandmates.

"Hey, guys this is my…" I elbowed him and gave him a glance as though to say "don't tell them I'm your girlfriend yet,"

"This is Ange. She's gonna open up for us tonight," Jack said. "Ange, this is Ralph, he plays 2nd guitar. This is Alex—he plays bass, and this is Pert—he plays drums," I shook all their hands.

"Nice to meet you guys," I said with a smile. They all seemed nice enough. We all joked around backstage for a while until Jack took me aside.

"Baby, you ready to go on?" He whispered. I looked at the clock.

"If you're ready to have me go on," I replied, taking a deep breath.

"There's a band that will play for you—do they know what you're singing?" he asked.

"Of course!" I smiled, getting pumped for the opening.

"Well get on out there, girl!" he laughed.

"Are you gonna watch?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? Of course! We'll all be watching,"

"Alright, then let's get this party started," I smiled. He nodded and then walked out on the stage and took the mic.

"Wassap Detroit? My name is Jack Mercer and I'm here with Pragmatic Sanction! We have a kick ass concert planned with a lotta bands playing this evening! Opening up for my band this evening is a great friend of mine…Ange D'agostino!" The audience roared as I came out on stage. Jack was about to leave the stage when I made him stay there. He looked at me as though I was crazy.

"YEAH ANGE!" I heard Angel and Bobby scream out from the crowd. I looked at Jack and we both laughed. I looked behind me and nodded to the band to begin playing. The lights came up on me and I turned to Jack and began singing.

_Know all about…about your reputation,_

_And now it's bound to be a heart-break situation,_

_But I can't help it if I'm helpless every time that I'm where…you are,_

_You walk in and my strength walks out the door,_

_Say my name and I can't fight it anymore…_

_Oh I know I should go…but I need your touch just too damn much…_

I walked over to him and the audience screamed louder, thinking this was all staged and planned. I began somewhat seducing him during the chorus part:

_Lovin' you,_

_Yeah, isn't really somethin' I should do,_

_Shouldn't wanna spend my time with you, yeah_

_But I should try to be strong…_

_Baby you're the right kind of wrong,_

_Yeah baby you're the right kind of wrong!_

By the end of the chorus, I had the audience in a roar. They were loving it. Jack was just in shock. He had no idea any of this would happen. I walked away from Jack for the 2nd verse:

_It might be a mistake, a mistake I'm makin',_

_But what you're givin' I am happy to be takin'_

_Cause no one's ever made me feel the way I feel when I'm in your arms,_

_They say you're somethin' I should do without,_

_They don't know what does on when the lights go out,_

_There's no way to explain,_

_All the pleasure is worth all the pain…_

By this point, the audience was howling—yet they seemed a little bit more in tuned to the message I was trying to send out…especially his bandmates, who I could see congregating backstage, jaws dropped at what they were seeing.

I walked back over to Jack and looked him in the eyes:

_And lovin' you,_

_Yeah, isn't really somethin' I should do,_

_Shouldn't wanna spend my time with you, yeah,_

_I should try to be strong,_

_But baby, you're the right kind of wrong,_

_Yeah, baby you're the right kind of wrong!_

_I should try to run but I just can't seem to  
'Cause every time I run you're the one I run to  
Can't do without what you do to me,  
I don't care if I'm in to deep yeah!_

At this time, the audience was getting quiet, mesmerized by this confession I seemed to be making to Jack.

_I know all about,  
Yea about your reputation  
And now it's bound to be a heartbreak situation  
But I can't help it if I'm helpless  
Every time that I'm where you are_

Jack got over his initial shock, and took my hands as I led him further out onto the stage with me.

_You walk in and my strength walks out the door  
Say my name and I can't fight it any more  
Oh I know, I should go  
But I need your touch just too damn much  
Hey-yeah_

_Lovin' you, yeah, isn't really something I should do  
I shouldn't wanna spend my time with you, yeah  
Well I should try to be strong, I should try to be strong  
But baby you're the right kind of wrong  
Baby you're the right kind of wrong  
Baby you're the right kind of wrong!_

I finished the song and the audience went crazy. I looked at Jack and we both smiled. He mouthed "I love you" to me and kissed me. He took the mic from me.

"One moment please," he said as he ran off stage with me. The audience laughed thinking the entire moment was staged. The audience didn't get it, but his bandmates definitely did. Jack pinned me against the wall backstage and kissed me.

"You never told us she was your girl, Jack," Ralph said. Jack stopped kissing me and he just laughed.

"Yeah I know—she did," he said. He kissed me once more. "I gotta go on stage now," he ran out on stage just as the rest of his band mates finished setting up their shit. Ralph followed Jack and I just sank to the ground, smiling. I did it. I sang and I outted Jack and I at the same time—though Detroit probably didn't get it. Well—after Jack's performance, they definitely knew.

"What's up Detroit! Give it up again for my girlfriend Ange!" The audience just went crazy. Jack outted us. I was shocked. I stood up and watched him. He suddenly came running over to me and dragged me back on stage.

"My girlfriend Ange!" he exclaimed and kissed me again.

I watched Jack and his band perform with a smile plastered on my face. Jack and I watched the rest of the concert together. We were both screaming and jumping up and down, hand-in-hand…smiles plastered on both our faces.


	19. Rapture is Good

**18. Rapture is Good**

There is lots of _sexual content in this chapter…again…by request hahaha! Thank you again for your reviews: Iluvgarretthedlund, xXxLOLAxXx, Mizz-Whizz49, Benzin Engel, EyesPainedBlack and everyone else! Thank you all so much and keep reading ) Enjoy!_

After the concert was over, Jack, his bandmates and I all went to a nearby club. Everything seemed cool between me and his friends. We were all drinking and dancing and have a great time. Jack and I were pretty drunk, dancing close. He kept moving his hands all over my body as we danced. The club was insane—it was wicked crowded and everyone was drunk and falling everywhere. As we danced, Jack moved his hands slowly down my thighs and back up until he came to my hips. He worked his hand into my pants but I turned around to face him. I shook my head.

"Later," I spoke into his ear seductively. He looked at his watch and then back at me.

"I say we get outta here now," he replied with a sexy smile. I looked around and couldn't find his bandmates. I shrugged and nodded in approval. He smiled again and took my hand and led me through the crowd to the bar where his bandmates were. He ordered us too more shots before we left.

"Alright guys, we're headin' outta here," Jack said drunkenly.

"You guys are leaving already?" Alex asked, looking a bit skeptical.

"Yeah, we're tired. Long night, ya know?" Jack slurred, nudging his friend in the arm.

"Alright. You guys good to go?" Pert asked.

"Yeah, we're fine!" Jack urged. "Great job tonight!"

"You too, dude," Pert laughed at his drunken friend. "Nice meeting you, Ange,"

"You too!" I replied with a huge smile as Jack led me through the crowd again.

Once outside, Jack wrapped his arms around me and began covering me with kisses. I finally pulled away.

"Jack, save it for when we get back!" I exclaimed, laughing as he kissed me some more. We began our walk back to my place.

After a good 30-35 minute walk through the "shitty-ass streets" of Detroit, we made it back to my house. I opened the door and Jack hurried me inside and slammed and locked the door behind him. He pinned me up against the wall beside the stairs and ripped off my jacket and threw it on the floor. He struggled taking off his, so I helped him, tossing it next to mine as he kissed me intensely. He ran his hands up my shirt and began un-clipping my bra. I stopped him and began running up the stairs. He followed me, almost tripping up the stairs. I reached the top before he did. He drunkenly grabbed me as he tripped up the final step. I laughed at his clumsiness, but dragged him into my room. Finally, he sat on my floor and pulled me down to him. We kissed passionately on the floor as we began undressing each other. I lifted his shirt over his head, revealing his strong build. His necklaces fell against his muscular chest and he tossed the shirt behind me as he leaned against my bed, pulling me onto him. As I sat on top of him, he kissed my neck and then finally pulled my shirt off over my head. I began kissing his neck and moved down a bit further. I moved off of him and stood up, pulling him up with me. I could feel his boner against me as he held me close. I unbuckled his pants and let them fall to the floor. He stepped out of them and began unbuckling mine. I had a feeling we might have hot sex tonight, so I prepared for him.

"Let me," I said in a low voice as I undid my pants. I never wore thongs—too uncomfortable, but for some reason, I felt that wearing a thong might be a good idea. I turned my back to him as I slid my pants off and bent over so Jack had a good view. He put his hands on my hips and pulled me close to him as if we were grinding back at the club again. I turned back around and pushed him onto the bed.

"I'll be right back," I said and ran out of the room. In my bathroom, I put on a sheer black baby doll from Victoria's Secret. I never wore lingerie before, but tonight felt right. The baby doll pushed my boobs into nice cleavage, where I hit two silk scarves. I ran back into my room and stood in the doorway. Jack, who had been laying on the bed suddenly propped himself up.

"Holy shit," he said, smiling. I cat-walked over to him and got on the bed and straddled him. He immediately began kissing me all over. Things got pretty hot and heavy as I felt him pressing into me through our underwear. We began thrusting as though we were having sex, but I stopped him.

"Baby, don't stop," he said breathily.

"Shh," I put my finger up to his lips. I glided two silk scarves out of my baby doll and took one of his arms and held it out. I wrapped one of the scarves around his wrist and tied him to the bed. I then did the same thing with his other arm. I began kissing him all over and down to his neck. As I kissed his neck, I then moved up and licked his earlobe, which drove him nuts. I then moved back down, kissing him as I moved lower. I then slid his boxer-briefs off. I started giving him head and jacked him off at the same time. He breathed heavily and moaned a couple of times as I worked it down there.

"Oh God, Ange," he muttered through heavy breaths. I then moved back up, kissing and licking all the way up his stomach until I reached his lips. I discretely slid off my thong while I played with his tongue with mine. I reached over and grabbed a condom from the nightstand. I opened it and put it on him—but I tricked him, and avoided putting him in me just yet, which drove him crazy. He was squirming around as I played around with him, licking and blowing in his ear, nibbling his lip, kissing his neck and kissing all the way down his chest.

"Ange, let me finger you, please," he urged.

"Not yet…" I said as I took hold of him and guided him into me. I started rocking back and forth, thrusting pretty slow and steadily at first. He groaned loudly and closed his eyes. I stopped moving for a moment, and then moved even faster, thrusting hard and fast. He opened his eyes again, breathing heavily and groaned again. I was pleased to notice his eyes roll back as his bit his bottom lip in rapture. I was riding him when he finally spoke.

"Come closer to me, Ange," he breathed. I leaned down to him, still thrusting. He kissed my neck as I ran my hands through his hair. He thrusted just as hard and fast. I thought he was gonna go even faster, until he held into the bed post he was tied to and squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

"I'm gonna come Ange," he moaned. I didn't care. I kept thrusting. "Holy shit," he orgasmed. "Holy shit, Oh God," he uttered finally. Still kissing him, I untied him from the bed. He slipped out of me and took off the condom and threw it in the trash can by my bed.

"Ange, that was amazing," he panted, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"What can I say? I tried," I smiled. He pulled me close to him and I rested my head on his chest.

"Well, now it's my turn…" he said finally, after a couple of moments.


	20. Being the Lead Singer's Girlfriend

**19. Being the Lead Singer's Girlfriend**

_Disclaimer: There is some intense and seriousmaterial in this chapter. I am sorry if the upcoming content offends anyone—I promise it won't be too explicit. Just a forewarning!_

Jack completely rocked my world that night. Neither of us had ever engaged in such intense sex before. When we woke up, we both dressed in our underwear and went downstairs, both of us giddy from the night before. Suddenly, both of us stopped dead in our tracks.

"Looks like you guys had a fun evening," Bobby said, sitting on the couch as he observed our lack of clothing.

"Uh, Bobby? How'd you get into Ange's place?" Jack asked, his face turning bright red.

"You left the key she gave you back at home. I needed to get a hold of you, I though I'd drop by," he smirked as he tossed Jack the key. Jack ran a hand through his messy hair and turned to me with a sympathetic look.

"Have you been here long? We were just about to make breakfast," I said.

"Oh, I stopped by this morning and you were both sleeping still, so I thought I'd come back this afternoon," he looked at his watch, "it is only 1:14 you know,"

Jack and I both blushed at how late we had slept in. Neither of us felt it was that late.

"Lunch anyone?" I asked.

"Sure…but right now I just need a quick conversation with my brother," Bobby stated as he stood to his feet.

"Bobby what is it?" Jack asked, looking a bit worried.

"Let's step outside. Ange, we'll be back in just a minute," Bobby said as he motioned for Jack to follow him outside. I ran upstairs and threw on some sweats and a tee-shirt and ran back downstairs, expecting them to be back inside. I saw they were still talking, so I went into the kitchen and began making grilled cheese.

Bobby and Jack finally came inside and found me in the kitchen. Jack had the most bizarre look on his face. I couldn't tell if he was happy or upset.

"Ange, we have to talk," he said finally. My heart dropped since his expression was anything but glorious.

"Jack what's wrong?" I asked, walking closer to him, trying to sense his vibes.

"Well, I have some news from Bobby," he said, glancing at his brother.

"Oh God, what is it?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Well, last night at the concert, a talent scout sought out Bobby to find out about my band and they want us to play more gigs around and out of Detroit!" He exclaimed, finally showing his enthusiasm. I shrieked with excitement for Jack and I jumped up and hugged him.

"Jack that's wonderful!" I screamed.

"Yeah, my band found out today too, apparently. I gotta go call Pert and figure out times when we can practice," Jack said as he excused himself into the other room.

"Bobby! You scared the shit outta me!" I laughed.

"Yeah, that was the plan," Bobby chuckled.

_Later that month…_

Things had been going really well for Jack and his band, Pragmatic Sanction. I laugh every time I think of that band name. Laugh and then cry.

Jack and his band mates worked long days practicing, which worked out fine for me since I was working on my internship. Jack would come over late at night after practicing, tired, and I'd be exhausted as well. We'd just crash or watch a movie or whatever. On occasion, we'd have dinner, and then sex. What Jack didn't tell me was that, when he'd be spending his evenings with me, he'd be blowing off spending time with his band mates. Apparently he felt that the time they spent practicing was enough time spent with them, then the rest of his day should be devoted to me. I thought it was thoughtful and generous of him to be coming over so late after spending such long days working with his band. He didn't seem to mind. He always just looked relieved and glad to see me. On the weekends, I was able to attend the band practices, something I felt almost obligated to do because I wanted to show Jack my support. Each weekend, I went with them to different locations to perform. We always had a good time backstage. Jack and I would spend secret time together in random rooms backstage before his band would go on the play. I'd sit in the front row and scream my head off for them. Sometimes Jack would pull me on stage. Those times would embarrass me so much, but then I'd just smile and laugh it off with Jack. Everything was busy and hectic, but going well until the first weekend of February…

The guys were playing a Saturday night gig in Lansing, the capital. This was big for them. The Friday before, Jack and the guys practiced all day and well into the evening. Around 7:30, Jack came into my place looking tired.

"Long day?" I asked, handing him a beer.

"Yeah, but we're so ready for tomorrow," he replied with a tired smile as he sat down.

"Great! I can't wait to hear you guys tomorrow night just rock out the capital," I said as I sat next to him.

"It should be a great time, babe," he replied as he kissed my forehead and wrapped an arm around me. We hung low for a bit and Jack finally finished his beer and stood up.

"Ange, I'm sorry but I have to get some sleep tonight," he said, looking a bit sad he had to leave me.

"You can spend the night here if you want," I said, standing up, facing him.

"You know I want to. But I know if I sleep here we'll spend all night having sex—which is SO not a bad thing—but I do need some sleep tonight, baby," he laughed. I laughed with him in agreement; I knew it was true. Whenever he slept over we had sex all night.

"Faire enough," I smiled and walked him to the door.

"Tomorrow night," he said as he stepped outside, "to celebrate the concert. We'll have sex all night," he laughed.

"Okay, sounds like a plan," I laughed with him. He leaned in and kissed me goodnight.

"See you tomorrow. I love you," he said and turned to leave.

"I love you too. Sleep well," I turned and went inside and shut the door. I saw down on the couch and turned on the TV and just go into watching a show when the doorbell rang. My heart skipped a beat thinking it was Jack. I popped right off the couch and ran to the door and opened it.

"Jack!" I exclaimed not even noticing who was out there.

"No, not Jack, sorry Ange," Ralph said. My heart sank but I smiled.

"Hey guys! What's up?" I asked, a bit confused as to why they were here.

"Actually, we figured Jack was here," Alex said, looking in my house.

"Oh, no he's not…" I began to say, as they invited themselves into my house, "he just left a few minutes ago…"

"You got any beer, Ange?" Ralph asked as he shut the door behind him.

"Yeah, in the fridge…want me to call Jack?" I asked as I reached in my sweatshirt pocket for my cell phone and pulled up the Mercer's home phone number.

"No that's alright, we can just talk to you," Alex said as he sat down on the couch.

"About what?" I asked, moving closer to the door.

"Have a seat! Relax, we won't be long," Ralph said as he pushed me onto the couch.

"Okay," I said, a bit nervous about the situation, sitting down.

"Now, first things first," Ralph said as he sat next to me, "you and Jack have been together for how long now?"

"Um, almost 3 months?" I said not really sure of how long it's been.

"And of course you guys hang out a lot," he stated.

"Yeah," I replied.

"And undoubtedly you guys fuck," he continued. I looked at him quizzically and cocked a curious eyebrow.

"Yes…where is this going, Ralph?" I asked.

"You seem like you'd show Cracker Jack a good time," Alex chimed in from the other side of me. I turned and noticed he'd moved a lot closer to me.

"What is your point?" I asked, getting a bit defensive.

"You're getting in the way of our band progressing, Ange. Sorry," Alex stated blatantly.

"I'm sorry…wait, what! Jack works his ass off all day with you guys! How could you say that?" I asked, defending him.

"Jack's always fucking you—that's what," Ralph said.

"Jack's not always fucking me, Ralph. As a matter of fact, when and if we hang out after your practices we usually just watch a movie of chill out," I said firmly.

"Jack comes here after practices?" Alex asked, even though it was a fact he already knew, since they had managed to follow him back to place that evening.

"Uh, yeah," I said, figuring they had known this.

"Yeah…well here's the thing, Ange," Ralph said, "Jack practices with us and then we all go out and bond as a band, but we can't do that because Jack always leaves us after practice to come here and bang you,"

"That's not true, Ralph…"

"So we think you should share the wealth. It's only fair," Alex interrupted.

"Excuse me!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide suddenly in fear.

"You heard me," Alex said as he moved close to me and grabbed hold of my arms.

"Let go of me!" I shrieked.

"You're gonna give us what Jack gets after every pratice," Ralph said as he crawled on top of me.

"Stop it! Please!" I cried as Alex pulled off my sweatshirt and tossed it on the floor. Ralph unbuckled my pants as Alex held my arms so I couldn't move. All I could do was scream out against them. I started kicking Ralph as hard as I could and suddenly I felt Ale's strong hand smack me hard in the head.

"Please stop it! Please!" I screamed as loud as I could.

"I guess being the lead singer's girlfriend isn't what it's cracked up to be huh? If you're gonna fuck the lead singer, you gotta fuck the rest of the band too," Ralph said as he threw my pants on the floor and started to pull off my underwear.

"STOP IT! PLEASE DON'T!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Alex smacked me in the face again, this time making my lip bleed.

"Ange, shut the fuck up so we can get this over and done with," Alex said, his teeth clenched. Suddenly, the front door flew open.

"Get the fuck off of her,"

It was Bobby, Angel and Jack.

"JACK!" I cried.

"Oh, you're here! Just in time to watch your girlfriend fuck your friends," Ralph said with a smile as he pulled my underwear off. Bobby and Angel ran over to Alex and Ralph and punched them both hard in their heads. As Alex let go of me, I fell to the floor and just curled up into a ball. Jack ran over to me and scooped me up into his arms.

"Take her to the house, Jack," Bobby called over to Jack as he continued to beat up Alex. Jack carried me out the door and down the street back to his house while Angel and Bobby continued to beat the shit out of Alex and Ralph.

Back at the Mercer's, Jack laid me on his bed and dressed me in his clothes. All I could do was cry. Jack sat next to me on the bed and stroked my head and let his fingers run gracefully through my hair.

"Shh, baby, everything's gonna be alright. You're safe, Ange," Jack soothed. He got up and retrieved a face cloth and moistened it in the bathroom. He brought it back and cleaned up my bloody lip. Jack sat back down on the bed and I sat up suddenly.

"Jack just hold me, please," I sobbed. He dropped the cloth immediately and just held me in his arms.

"It's okay Ange, just let it out, baby," he told me, his voice was soft and low. After spending a few moments like that, Bobby and Angel finally poked their heads in the door.

"Ange, don't you worry about a thing, girl. We gave them one hell of a' ass whuppin'" Angel said as he knelt by the bed.

"You're gonna be fine, sweetie," Bobby said as he knelt beside Angel. I turned my head to them and forced a smile.

"Thank you, guys," I said, my voice cracking. Jack kissed me and wiped my tears away.

"We'll see you in the morning…" Angel said.

"Wait…how did you guys know I was…that they were…"

"Somehow you called us and Angel picked up the phone and no one answered but then we heard screaming. Jack grabbed the phone from Angel and heard that it was you so we ran over to your place since that was the last place Jack said you were," Bobby explained.

"Oh my God, that's unbelievable," I said, astonished. I had pulled up their number on my cell phone. Alex must have dialed it when he ripped off my sweatshirt and thrown it on the floor.

"You get some rest. Cracker Jack will stay with you," Bobby said as he and Angel stood up and left the room. I turned to Jack and buried my head in his chest.

"I'm so sorry about this, Jack," I said finally.

"Why are you sorry, Ange?" He asked, pulling me away from him so he could look into my eyes. "You're the one they tried to…you know,"

"Yes, but now you can't play in Lansing tomorrow—you were looking forward to it and you worked to hard, Jack," I began sobbing again.

"I don't care about any of that, Ange. I care that you were almost raped by my supposed 'best friends'. That's what I care about. I care that Bobby and Angel saved you—and I care that you're safe and here with me right now. That's all I care about,"

"I love you, Jack. Don't you leave me," I said through sobs.

"I'd never leave you," he said, rubbing my back. "You don't leave the people you love,"


End file.
